


High Lord's Fury

by jesatria



Series: An Account of the Vord War [1]
Category: Codex Alera - Jim Butcher
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 05:54:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 43,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18732931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jesatria/pseuds/jesatria
Summary: Attis's life is going quite well. The rebellion is over, his hated enemy is dead, and his wife has disappeared. Shame a certain horde of giant bugs had to show up and ruin everything.





	1. The Summons

            I was in bed with Camilla when the summons arrived. Late morning sunlight was shining brightly through the curtains when loud and persistent knocking woke me from my comfortable sleep. I’d been sleeping quite well recently, a product of the contentment I was currently feeling. My greatest enemy, a man I’d wanted dead for more than twenty years, was no more, having perished horribly in a trap partly of his own making. Though it was indeed tragic that so many innocent Kalaran civilians had died as well, I couldn’t help but feel immensely satisfied that Kalarus Brencis was now dead. I’d even witnessed the volcanic eruption myself from where I was encamped with my Legions. My only regrets regarding his death were that I hadn’t been the one to kill him personally and the entire population of Kalare had perished along with him.

            But Kalarus’s death was only half the reason for my current good mood. The other was the sudden disappearance of my wife. I had not heard from Invidia since she went undercover with the First Aleran more than half a year ago. While we were generally not in a hurry to see each other again after spending time apart, it was quite unlike Invidia to disappear without a trace. I had no idea where she might be or what had happened to her, though I supposed I would need to expend some effort to find out eventually. I was fairly certain she hadn’t joined the First Aleran when it left Alera to escort the Canim home. No, she’d have slipped away before that. I liked to imagine she was dead in a ditch somewhere and I was finally rid of her, but part of me didn’t want to get my hopes up too much. Until I knew her fate for certain, we were technically still married. That didn’t mean I wasn’t going to invite Camilla to live with me in the palace as my officially-acknowledged mistress and consort.

            I closed my eyes, hoping the damned knocking would go away if I just ignored it. I was not inclined to leave my current position, not when my head currently rested atop Camilla’s perfect breasts. The knocking persisted and I felt her stir beneath me. “Whatever the reason for this interruption, it had better be a good one,” I snapped.

            The doors to my bedchamber opened and in stepped my valet Flavius, accompanied by a Knight Aeris in the livery of the House of Gaius. “Apologies for waking you, your grace, but an urgent message has arrived from the First Lord.”

            “Crows take it,” I cursed, “what does the old man want?” With some reluctance, I sat up and faced my unwanted visitors.

            The messenger stepped forward. “Your grace, I bear a summons from the First Lord. It is extremely urgent.” He held out a letter stamped with the First Lord’s official seal.

            “Very well, leave it on the table. Now please leave so I can get dressed.” Once they were gone, I rose from bed and pulled on a silk robe. Still in bed, Camilla stirred.

            “What was that about?”

            “I’ve been summoned, apparently.” I glanced over at her lying atop the pillows, gloriously nude. Getting back into bed with her was preferrable to whatever Gaius wanted with me, but duty called. I sighed and opened the letter. What I read made my blood run cold. _You are hereby summoned to an emergency meeting of the Senate to discuss the eminent Vord threat._

            Vord. I’d heard that name before.

            I rushed out of my bedchamber and into my study. “Attis, what…?” Camilla called after me. I spent a bit of time scanning the shelves where I kept important documents until I found what I was looking for. Occasions such as this were why I did my best to keep my papers organized.

            When I walked back into the bedchamber, a packet of papers in hand, Camilla was standing by the bed, wearing a silk robe. “What is it?”

            “An emergency meeting of the Senate.”

            “For what?”

            “Likely nothing good,” I replied, meeting her eyes. “There is a very good chance I’ll be going to war again soon.”

            Camilla’s face fell as she crossed the room to where I stood. “Oh no, no, not again! Not so soon after the last time.”

            I pulled her into my arms and stroked her hair gently. “I know, and just when things were going so well for us! But I have a duty to this Realm and I cannot, _will not_ neglect it.”

            Camilla made no reply other than to rest her head against my chest. I could feel her concern and worry even through my shields. I reluctantly let go of her and went into my solar, where Flavius waited with the messenger. “Flavius, have a windcoach prepared…”

            “That won’t be necessary, your grace,” the Knight Aeris interrupted. “The First Lord sent a windcoach for you, along with an extra contingent of Knights.”

            “Gaius wasn’t kidding when he said ‘urgent,’ it seems,” I remarked. “I’ll leave as soon as I’ve had something to eat. Flavius, have some breakfast brought up to my private dining room and see if you can get me something I can eat on the way to Alera Imperia. I doubt I’ll have much time for any other meals.”

            “Yes, my lord.”

            “Now it’s time I issued a summons of my own.” I started toward my study when the Knight Aeris spoke again.

            “The First Lord has already issued summonses to the most prominent Citizens of the Realm,” he informed me.

            “That’s all well and good, but I mean to inform each of my Citizens. And I can’t very well let Rhodes show me up in the Senate with a larger contingent, now can I?” I made straight for the fountain pool in the middle of my study. Closing my eyes for a moment, I projected my power outward into the city and the lands beyond. It would’ve been easier to do this at my viewing pool, but I honestly didn’t feel like going all the way down there when the fountain pool would do. It wasn’t long before I felt myself connected to the households of every Citizen in Aquitaine.

            “Greetings, Citizens. I have been summoned to an urgent emergency meeting of the Senate, as some of you no doubt have as well. For the rest of you, I require your presence to represent Aquitaine at the meeting. Please proceed with all haste to Alera Imperia.” With that, I ended the watersending. The summons now done, I took a quick bath to refresh myself and dressed in one of my best silk tunics in the scarlet and sable of Aquitaine. It was necessary to cut an impressive figure at an event such as this. I slid my signet ring onto my finger and the elaborately-engraved armbands marking my status as a High Lord onto my arms. Finally, I strapped on my signet dagger and sword.  When I was done getting ready, I joined Camilla for a brief breakfast.

            “I’ll return as soon as I am able,” I promised her once we were done eating. “With any luck, it won’t be too long.”

            “But you’ll leave me again if you are called to war,” she remarked.

            “Yes,” I murmured. “I can’t neglect my duty.”

            “I know.” She wrapped her arms around me. “Take care, my love.”

            A few minutes later, I stood in the section of our outer courtyard which served as our windport. The windcoach was waiting there, along with some twenty Knights Aeris. The large number of Knights was enough to impress upon me the urgency of this summons—there would be no stops on the way to the capital so they could rest; they would take turns with the coach instead. I opened the door and stepped inside. A moment later we were in the air.

            I was traveling light, as I hadn’t exactly had time to pack much of anything. It didn’t matter, since I had plenty of clothing and other necessities at my manor house. All I had was the summons, my packet of notes, and a bundle of food Flavius had retrieved from the kitchens. It consisted of a few slices of bread, some salty white cheese, and a bunch of grapes. A warm meal would’ve been nicer, but this was the best I was going to get given the circumstances. I doubted I’d have time to eat dinner before the Senate meeting. It really was a beautiful autumn day; shame it had to be ruined with this news. I pulled open the curtains and looked out the window as my city grew smaller and smaller. This vantage point offered an excellent view of the surrounding mountains. The leaves had begun to change and the mountains were covered in patches of vibrant red, orange, and gold.

            As much as I might’ve wanted to admire the scenery, I had more important matters to attend to. I opened the packet of notes and began to read through them as I ate some grapes. The first two were reports made by Aldrick and Fidelias after their respective encounters with the Vord. To these I added several pages of notes I’d made after speaking to both of them and Invidia on the matter. In both cases the Vord had been defeated, though the Queen behind the attacks in Alera Imperia had escaped. That fact had been enough for me to deem it necessary to retain these notes regarding the Vord, but the idea of that Queen returning to wreak havoc wasn’t something I’d given much thought. Oh, I’d known it was a possibility, but I’d been too preoccupied with Kalarus’s rebellion and my own plans to consider it in detail. That was clearly a mistake. The Count Calderon had tried to impress upon the Senate how dangerous they were and get them to take the threat seriously. We all should’ve had his foresight.

            The Vord were extremely dangerous and now they’d returned to Alera, if indeed they’d ever left at all.

            The journey to Alera Imperia from Aquitaine was not a terribly long one, with Alera Imperia being due west from my city. Nevertheless, the journey gave me plenty of time to think over everything I knew of the Vord. If it had been any other occasion, I probably would’ve taken a nap to make up for being woken up against my will. As it was, I was so lost in my thoughts that I was startled when Alera Imperia came into view.

            We made directly for the Senatorium. It had its own windport, for the convenience of Senators and lords when attending to Senate business. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen it so busy. Windcoaches were everywhere. Citizens in the colors of nearly every great city in Alera rushed about, meeting up with their High Lords. As I stepped out of my own windcoach, I scanned the crowd for Aquitainian Citizens. I did not have to wait long before a cluster of them spotted me.

            They immediately began asking me questions. Did I know anything else about this Senate meeting? Had I spoken with Gaius? I could sense their nervousness and uncertainly through my shields. It was only natural that they would look to me, their High Lord, for reassurance. Unfortunately, I had very little reassurance to offer them and the questions soon turned to other matters.

            “Where is your dear wife, my lord?” asked an elderly countess who’d been a friend of my mother.

            “Where indeed? That is the question,” I replied flippantly. In truth it felt incredibly odd attending an event such as this without Invidia beside me. Not that I wanted her there—I’d merely grown accustomed to her presence after twenty years of being manacled to her. It was impossible to hide the fact that she was missing, so I hadn’t even bothered to try. This, however, would be the first time her absence would really be noted. If my own Citizens noticed it, the others surely would as well.

            More of my Citizens came to join us. Looking about the windport, I noticed a larger crowd wearing the black and gold of Rhodes. _That will not do._ I’d be damned if I let that slive show me up on an occasion such as this. I remained where I was for several minutes until the rest of my Citizens arrived. “I think it’s time we entered the Senatorium,” I announced once everyone was there. Together we made for the nearest door, attracting the attention of numerous bystanders on the way. I liked to think that was due to how impressive we looked as a group—the scarlet and sable was rather striking—but it was just as likely they were surprised to see me without Invidia.

            The Senatorium was already more than half full when I entered, a rare occurance. No one attended Senate meetings unless they had to. I didn’t bother to study the crowd or chat with anyone, instead making straight for my box. It was located on the right side of the Senatorium. The boxes were arranged in roughly geographic order, which meant mine was situated between Riva and Rhodes. Not exactly a position I enjoyed being in, given I had little use for Riva and absolutely despised Rhodes. He shot me a poisonous look as I took my seat; I smirked at him in response. Every High Lord had his own box, intended for use by him, his family, and any guests he might have. I would be sitting alone in mine today. My Citizens took their places in the seats behind my box. With some satisfaction, I noted my contingent was indeed larger than Rhodes’s.

            Now that I was seated, I took some time to study the room. Riva was present, unfortunately, and I spotted the Count and Countess Calderon among his Citizens. They were easy to spot, as they wore their own colors of green and brown instead of Riva’s colors. Count Bernard must’ve felt some satisfaction that his warnings about the Vord had proven accurate.

            Glancing over at Rhodes, my hand unconsciously drifted down to my sword hilt. Even after all these years, white hot rage still boiled up inside me every time I saw the murderous bastard. He’d have looked much better with my sword through his chest. _Patience,_ I reminded myself. I’d waited more than twenty years—I could wait a little longer. Besides, Gaius would surely take it amiss if I killed him before the Senate meeting began.

            Moving on from Rhodes, there was little of note until Kalarus’s box. It was entirely empty, which was not exactly surprising. Most of his family had surely perished in the eruption, though Gaius mentioned that his heir had apparently escaped. They were all a bunch of traitors anyway. The Citizen section was almost entirely empty as well, also not surprising. Many Kalaran Citizens had died in the war, but those who didn’t live in the city or its immediate area could have survived. I thought of one in particular who fled his country estate when I approached with my Legions. Those few who were present were not wearing Kalare’s colors, likely to distance themselves from their treasonous former High Lord.

            Curiously, Ceres’s section was also rather sparsely populated. That did surprise me a bit, though I knew Ceres had been hit hard in Kalarus’s rebellion. High Lord Ceres was not present, nor was his son and heir. Instead his daughter sat alone in his box. That gave me a distinct sense of foreboding, as Cereus Macius was not the sort of man to miss something like this unless a more urgent matter required his presence.

            The Placidas’ section was surprisingly empty as well. Lady Placida sat in their box alone, with Lord Placida nowhere to be seen. My eyebrows rose slightly when I noticed Steadholder—no, _Gaius_ Isana seated beside her. Septimus’s wife. Though I’d known the truth for some time, I still found it hard to reconcile the idea that this steadholder from the Calderon Valley had been the wife of my best friend. All that time she spent as my, or rather Invidia’s, client and neither of us had any inkling of it. Clearly she’d taken the opportunity of Invidia’s disappearance to sever that particular relationship. It was a shame, though not exactly shocking. She’d barely bothered to conceal her hatred of us, particularly of me, and generally did her best to avoid me on those occasions when our paths crossed. Second Calderon was the root of her hatred, I knew. It was a shame—I’d have preferred to be on good terms with Septimus’s wife.

            The boxes of the northern cities both lacked a High Lord. Lady Phrygia was there in her husband’s stead and an elderly, one-eyed Antillan Citizen stood in for Raucus. That was necessary, since Raucus’s wife and both of his sons were currently serving in the First Aleran and probably in Canea now for all we knew. Raucus’s absence wasn’t surprising, considering he rarely left the Shieldwall or his city, but I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment that he wasn’t there. It took me aback for a moment, my own eagerness to see Raucus again. It had been years since I’d seen him. That was my doing, of course, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him sometimes.

            My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden sound of a trumpet playing the fanfare for a Legion captain. That could mean only one thing—we were at war. The entire Senatorium rose to its feet as the First Lord entered, surrounded by his personal guards. No one had missed the significance of the fanfare and murmurs could be heard around the chamber as Gaius took to the Senate floor. “Citizens! Citizens, please.”

            “Order! Order in the Senatorium!” cried the Speaker of the Senate. Gradually the murmuring subsided. “We welcome you to this emergency convocation of the Senate, convened at the request of the First Lord. I will now yield the floor to Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, so that he may present information of key importance to the Realm before the august members of this assembly.” The Speaker stepped aside and Gaius took his place at the podium.

            It did not escape my notice that Gaius looked considerably frailer than he had the last time I’d seen him. Normally I’d have rejoiced at that, thinking his end was near, but not now when the Realm faced a dangerous foe. “Citizens,” said Gaius, the serious tone of his voice impressing upon us the gravity of the situation, “I come to you tonight as no First Lord has for hundreds of years. I come to you to warn you. I come to you to call you to duty. And I come to you to ask you to go beyond all that duty requires.” He paused a moment for emphasis. “Alerans, we are at war.”

 

 

**Notes**

 

Here it is, the promised prequel to the Other Princeps. I probably should’ve started here, but I didn’t think of it at the time. You don’t need to read the Other Princeps to understand this fic since it’s canon-compliant, though those who have read the Other Princeps will recognize certain OCs. The 2 fics together are intended to be Attis’s full account of the Vord War.

I hope you enjoy this one!


	2. Tidings of War

            Silence fell over the Senatorium. Everyone could have deduced that we were at war from the fanfare, but hearing it straight from Gaius himself made the matter more final. He’d always been a political creature, which had made it hard for him to see eye-to-eye with Septimus, who hated politics. If this were any other situation, I might’ve suspected Gaius was exaggerating in order to gain political support. But I knew enough about the Vord to know how serious a threat they were. Gaius certainly knew it too, and it was clear that he meant to impress upon the Citizenry that the Vord were to be taken seriously. I had to grudgingly admit that his rhetorical skill was excellent. He paused a moment to let his words sink in, then continued. “An enemy which had only been a theory, a vague concern, has become a very real, very present threat to the Realm. The Vord have come to Alera.”

            The same chill I’d felt earlier returned at his words.

            “At the moment, it would appear that they landed and established themselves sometime late last summer, after the end of the Kalare Rebellion, in the wilderness region to the southwest of the city.” That made perfect sense. If I were planning to launch an invasion, I’d have chosen to land in a deserted area where I could build up my strength in secret without being noticed until it was too late. It fit with the reports too—the Vord, or at least their Queen, were intelligent. “We discovered their presence just under one month ago,” Gaius continued. “When they began attacking the southernmost patrols from the area around the Waste. A number of teams of Cursors and combat patrols of Knights were dispatched to determine enemy numbers and whereabouts.” He paused again for emphasis. “Casualties were heavy.”

            Murmurs broke out again at his words; Gaius ignored them. “The nearest Legion, one of the re-formed interim Kalaran Legions, was dispatched to secure the region. They engaged the Vord under near-ideal circumstances thirty miles south of the Waste and were overwhelmed within an hour. With the exception of two Knights Aeris, who escaped to bring word of the Legion’s fate, there were no survivors.”

            The Senatorium went so quiet you could’ve heard a pin drop. The Vord were capable of going head-to-head with an Aleran Legion, Aldrick had told me. I might’ve treated that information with skepticism had it come from anyone else, but Aldrick was not someone prone to exaggeration. Apparently they’d only become more dangerous since then.

            “The entirely of the other forces in the region, including the Senatorial Guard and both interim Kalaran Legions, marched at once, linked up and gave battle to the enemy at the northern edge of the Waste. We cannot be certain what happened at that point—there were apparently no survivors from the second engagement.”

            This time I couldn’t keep my mouth from falling open in shock. Those Legions weren’t exactly the best Alera had to offer, but for the Vord to have wiped them out to a man…

            Gaius faced the viewing pool in the center of the floor and waved a hand. A map of Alera formed in the water, showing the Realm in great detail. Slowly but surely the entire coastline southwest of Kalare turned a hideous brown-green color. It spread over the Kalaran Waste and north into the Amaranth Vale. “The enemy has come this far—a distance of nearly two hundred miles from the first point of contact—in less than a month. The substance you see represented on the map is known as _croach_. It is some kind of mold or fungus that grows in the Vord’s wake, killing all other plant and animal life,” Gaius explained.

            _Croach._ That had been in my reports, though there hadn’t been much detailed information on it. It apparently served as a food source for the Vord and a kind of alert system around their hives. “Our aerial scouts have confirmed that the entire area represented here has been covered entirely. Nothing lives there that is not Vord.”

            To my right, Riva rose from his seat. “Oh come now,” he scoffed, “you cannot expect us to believe that some kind of fungus is a threat to our Realm?” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his comment, then turned my attention back to Gaius. I wanted to see how he responded to this interruption. For decades he’d been reluctant to openly confront the High Lords when necessary, preferring to play politics from the sidelines. If he chose to do that now, it would undermine the message he was attempting to convey to us.

            “My lord, you have not been recognized by the Speaker of the Senate. You are out of order. The floor will open for questions and debate as soon as it is practical, but for the moment, it is essential that—”

            “That you force these histrionics on us?” Riva cut in. I had to resist the urge to slap him. “Come now, Gaius. Winter is all but upon us. The first freeze will destroy this… infestation, at which point _competent_ military leadership should suffice to contain and destroy these invaders. I see no reason why these theatrics—”

            Gaius turned to face Riva. “Grantus, I do not have time for this. Every moment of delay puts more lives at risk. Perhaps even your own.” He spoke calmly, but the hardened look on his face made his meaning clear: he’d just threatened Riva with the _juris macto_ without actually saying it. Riva caught his meaning—his eyes went wide and his pudgy face flushed with anger. I locked my gaze onto Gaius and waited to see who would blink first. Gaius might’ve been old and clearly ailing, but Riva wasn’t exactly a fighter. There was no contest. I knew it, Gaius knew it, and Riva knew it too.

            “My apologies for speaking out of turn, Speaker, Senators, my fellow Citizens,” he growled as he resumed his seat. “I will refrain from pointing out the obvious unti the proper time.” I grinned—Gaius had handled him well. All but threatening a High Lord with the _juris macto_ showed exactly how serious he was. I inclined my head very slightly to him in acknowledgment.

            He continued as if Riva’s interruption hadn’t happened. “The Vord have not limited their attacks to military forces. Civilian populations have been attacked and massacred without mercy. Given the nature of our defeats on the battlefield, a great many people never received word about their presence, or did not hear about them until it was too late for them to escape. The loss of life has been staggering.” He paused again, sweeping his gaze around the Senatorium. “More than one hundred thousand Aleran holders, freemen, and Citizens alike have been slain.”

            Horrified gasps and cries broke out in the chamber. I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp myself—I knew the Vord killed civilians, indeed any life they encountered, but such a large loss of life was still horrifying. “Four days ago, the Vord reached the southernmost holdings of High Lord Cereus,” said Gaius. That explained Cereus’s absence. “Lord Speaker, honored Senators, his daughter and heir, Veradis, is here to give testimony to the Senate and to speak on behalf of his Grace, her father.” The Speaker promptly called Cereus Veradis to the podium and she descended from her box. Gaius stepped aside to make room for her.

            “Thank you,” she began, voice somber. “My father sends his regrets that he cannot be here himself, but he is in the field with our Legions, slowing the Vord in an effort to give our people a chance to flee. It is at his command that I have come here to beg the aid of the First Lord and of his brother High Lords in Ceres’s most desperate hour.” She paused for a moment, composing herself, then continued. “Already, my brother Vereus has fallen to the invaders, along with half of the Legion under his command. Thousands of our holders have been slaughtered. Nearly half of the lands in my lord father’s care have been consumed by the Vord. Please, my lords. After what Kalarus’s rebellion did to our lands… we need your help.” Her voice did not waiver and she kept her composure, but her eyes and cheeks were wet with tears. Her speech now done, Cereus Veradis returned to her box and Gaius resumed his place at the podium.

            “Our current estimates put the enemy numbers at somewhere between one hundred and two hundred thousand, but frankly, this tells us relatively little. We have limited knowledge of their capabilities as individuals, but know almost nothing about their potential working in mass coordination.”

            “You know one thing,” I said quietly, using my wind furies to carry my voice around the chamber. “You know they are extremely dangerous. In all probability, more so, pound for pound, than an Aleran Legion.”

            My statement caused an instant uproar. Pointing out that the Legions might be anything other than invincible was simply not done. But now was a time for hard truths, no matter how difficult they were to hear or how much they contradicted the conventional wisdom. The truth was we had grown complacent. It had been quite some time since Alera had faced such a dangerous foe. To give one example, five hundred years had passed since the Children of the Sun had been destroyed. Nowadays, only the Legions of the Shield cities regularly saw combat. In those days before the Children of the Sun were defeated, the Aquitainian Legions frequently faced off against them on the battlefield. Now the most our Legions did was provide assistance to Riva when necessary to repel a Marat invasion. I tried my best to ensure my Legions were extremely well-trained and equipped, but even the best training was no substitute for actual battlefield experience.

            This lack of conflict bred stagnation. That had never been our way, not even back during Roman times. Our people have always been adaptable, able to quickly develop new ways to survive and fight. The Legions themselves were known for iron discipline, fierce determination, and adaptability. When a foe attacked in a way they hadn’t seen before, they soon found a way to overcome it. We would have to learn to adapt once again if we were to survive this. The Vord were not going to oblige us by following conventional tactics. I resolved to peruse the histories  of certain campaigns if I had the chance. There could be some valuable insights to be found, insights which could prove useful in the battles to come.

            As the crowd continued to loudly voice its objections to my statements, I turned my attention back to Gaius. Our eyes met and in that moment I could tell, without any watercrafting, that he believed what I’d said. Understanding passed between us in that moment, and I knew what he was expecting from me. It was a strange thing, coming to an understanding with Gaius, but these were strange and dangerous times.

            The crowd eventually quieted down after Gaius once more called the Senate to order. “Over the last several years, representatives from every Legion have been briefed on what we know of the Vord,” said Gaius. I’d seen to that myself, shortly after hearing of them. “They represent a unique threat—one that can expand very rapidly. We must respond rapidly and with overwhelming force if we are to repel them. To that end, I am ordering every High Lord, saving Phrygia and Antillus, to dispatch two Legions immediately for detailed operations against the Vord.”

            “Outrageous!” I turned to see Riva had risen to his feet once again. “You go too far, Sextus! No First Lord in five hundred years has acted with such arrogance!” This time, Gaius made no reponse. Riva took this as his cue to continue, apparently not having gotten the message after his earlier outburst. Perhaps further intimidation would be required. “Yes, the founding laws of the original Primus give you that authority, but it is well understood that we have grown beyond such ancient measures!” Riva was himself a perfect example of our stagnation, content to do nothing but sit on his ass rather than lift a finger to deal with a serious crisis. “This fearmongering is nothing but a pathetic and transparent attempt to continue grasping at power—exactly like the announcement of the sudden appearance of your so-called legitimate grandson.”

            I narrowed my eyes at the last remark. No one who knew Septimus well could possibly doubt his son’s legitimacy. I had no doubt Septimus did everything necessary to make sure his marriage to Isana was fully legal and thus Octavian’s legitimacy was beyond question. Riva’s comment irritated me more than I’d expected.

            He continued to blather on. “You are not a tyrant, Gaius Sextus! You are a first among equals, the crows take your egotistical eyes, and I will go to the crows before I will submit to your—”

            That was enough. If Gaius wouldn’t shut him up, then I would. Calmly I rose from my seat, drew my sword, and slashed the rail dividing my box from Riva’s in two. To make my point clear, I pointed my sword at him and ignited it. Red flames flickered down the blade. “Grantus,” I said, loudly enough for the entire Senatorium to hear, “close your cowardly lips over that void in your head where your brains went missing and keep them there. Then put your lazy, shapeless ass back in your chair and do it swiftly. Or face me in the _juris macto_.”

            Riva’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. He knew damn well he’d last less than a minute in the _juris macto_ against me. I’d fought in several _juris macto_ duels, and never lost one. His mouth opened and closed several times, mercifully without any words coming out, and then he took his seat.

            I nodded sharply, then turned in a circle, pointing my sword at each of the High Lords’ boxes. It had likely been quite some time since anyone had actually pulled a sword on someone in here, but extreme times called for extreme measures. The Senatorium had gone silent and I was certain the eyes of everyone in the chamber were on me. “Does anyone else have an objection to obeying the lawful commands of the First Lord?” I inquired, my voice quiet and hard. My wind furies ensured everyone in the Senatorium heard me.

            No one raised any further objections.

            I lowered my sword, extinguished it, and descended from my box to the Senate floor. Stopping in front of Gaius, I bowed and offered him the hilt of my sword over my left arm. It was the traditional gesture of swearing allegiance. “My Legions are yours to command, sire. I will dispatch them at once. Further, I offer you my personal services in the field.”

            Gaius nodded and took my sword, then offered it back to me hilt-first. “Thank you, your grace. Your support is most welcome. It was my hope that you would be willing to serve as captain for this campaign.”

            I’d been hoping he would say that. The Realm was in deadly danger and it was my duty to serve as best I could, and I knew my own capabilities. Aside from that, it put me in the position I’d sought to put myself in since Second Calderon: the Realm’s heroic protector. I disliked allying with Gaius, but it was necessary to defeat the Vord threat. I sheathed my sword, saluted Gaius, and moved to stand at his right hand. “Who will stand with us?” I demanded, letting my gaze sweep around the room.

            Placidus Aria was the first to rise. “My lord husband is already on the march to support our friend and neighbor Lord Cereus. Veradis, dear, he should be arriving at Ceres within a day.”

            “Atticus?” I prompted. “Parcia?” Both High Lords rose and quickly pledged their support. Neither of them were fighters, but both were staunchly loyal. One by one, the others, aside from the northerners, pledged their support. My threat had gotten through to Riva, for he agreed without any further objections. So did Rhodes, surprisingly. The slive was too much of a coward to risk me challenging him to the _juris macto_. He knew damn well I could take him, which was why he resorted to sending assassins after me.

            A crowd soon began to form around Gaius and I on the Senate floor. Gaius promptly dismissed the meeting as Citizens approached him with questions. Some approached me as well, mostly my own Citizens. I was sure to impress upon them that I expected each and every one of them to serve our city and the Realm in whatever capacity they could. When the crowd began to dissipate, Gaius turned his attention to me. “You and I will need to speak on this in much more detail soon. There are some matters I’ve chosen not to reveal to the Citizens at this time.”

            That was so like him, keeping secrets even when it was damaging to do so. “Of course, sire.”

            “I will contact you when I am ready.” I knew that for a dissmissal, so I took it as my cue to leave the Senatorium. With no other transportation available, I flew to my manor house. It wasn’t very far, as the manor was close to both the Senatorium and the Citadel. The staff weren’t surprised to see me, as I’d sent a brief watersending to inform them I was coming. What I wanted most right now was a decent meal and a strong drink before I met privately with Gaius, especially a strong drink.


	3. Gaius's Plans

            Dinner was a quick and simple affair, just filling enough to satisfy my hunger. I limited myself to only two cups of wine, as it wouldn’t do to get drunk before an important war meeting with Gaius. There would be time for more wine once the meeting was done and I could retire for the night. Once I was done eating, I headed to the library. It was not nearly as extensive as my library at home, but it was still impressive. I’ve always been interested in history and have naturally acquired a large number of history books and historical texts over the years. This time I was not given the chance to open a single book, as a messenger from Gaius arrived shortly after I finished eating: he was ready to meet with me. Reading would have to wait until later.

            The distance from my manor to the Citadel was a short one and it wasn’t long before I arrived. I’d scarcely landed before I was escorted to Gaius’s private study. One of his guards opened the door to let me inside, then shut it tightly behind me. I was alone with Gaius. This wasn’t exactly a rare occurance, as I did meet privately with him every Wintersend when all the High Lords had their private meetings with the First Lord. Some of those meetings had taken place in this very study, with its shelves lined with books and desk made of a rare wood found only near the Feverthorn Jungle. I could sense a windcrafting against eavesdropping—this was to be a private conversation indeed.

            Gaius sat behind his desk, a map of the Realm laid out before him. “Attis, welcome. Please be seated,” he greeted me, looking up from the map. _So he’s decided to address me familiarly today._ That wasn’t unheard of, though it was unusual. He generally did it when he really wanted my cooperation with something. Gaius never did anything without a purpose.

            I saluted and inclined my head to him. “Sire.”

            “I appreciate how quickly you caught on to my intentions in the meeting,” he began. “You were always a bright one and your prowess is desperately needed in the field.”

            “I hope to serve the Realm to the best of my ability,” I replied evenly.

            “You understand how grave a threat the Vord are. Most of the Citizenry do not, even after the meeting,” Gaius stated.

            “I have good reason to, when my own wife and several of my men fought them only a few years ago.”

            He nodded. “Speaking of your wife, do you have any idea as to her whereabouts?”

            Of course he knew Invidia was missing. There was no way he couldn’t have known. “I haven’t the faintest. Last time I saw her was before Kalarus’s Rebellion ended.”

            “That’s unfortunate. A crafter of her power and skill would be extremely valuable in the battles to come,” Gaius replied. I couldn’t argue with his comment, despite being in no rush to have Invidia back. “In truth, there is some information I’ve chosen to withold from the Citizens for now. If they knew they would be in a full-blown panic. The Vord have somehow acquired the ability to furycraft.”

            I didn’t bother to hide my shock and horror at his words. “You are certain of this?”

            “Believe me I wish I weren’t, but our intelligence reports were quite clear,” said Gaius.

            “The Vord, furycrafting.” I shook my head. “As if they weren’t bad enough as it was!”

            “My thoughts exactly. You can see why I chose to keep that particular detail from the Citizenry. Simply telling them about the Vord caused enough of an uproar.”

            “Yes.” It seemed Gaius’s penchant for keeping secrets had been warranted in this case. “The High Lords will be well and truly panicked and will focus on protecting their own cities first. Thus, they’ll want their Legions close to home. I can’t say I entirely blame them, as I too feel the urge to protect my city. But I understand the entire Realm is at stake.” I sighed. “So what do we know of the Vord’s newfound crafting abilities?”

            Gaius took a long drink from a cup on his desk as if to fortify himself before answering. I had a good idea of what was in that cup aside from spicewine and took care to keep my face impassive. Caria took the initiative to slowly poison Gaius on her own—all I did was make plenty of insinuations about us being together openly if he were out of the way. Looking at him now, it was very likely I was looking at the end product of years of Caria poisoning him. It was unfortunate he was as frail as he was when we had such a dangerous enemy to fight. Gaius finished his drink, coughed once, and answered, “Far less than I’d like.”

            “You’re certain this is not just taken Alerans using crafting after we used crafting against them?”

            “I am certain. I’ve received several eyewitness reports describing it quite clearly. It’s an unpleasant reality we must accept.” He grimaced. “The other reason I’ve decided to keep this from the Citizenry is because I don’t want word to reach the Vord that we know they can furycraft. They will likely plan to use it to strike at us when they think it will provide the greatest advantage. If they know we know, they’ll adjust their plans.”

            I nodded, following his reasoning. “We need to know more about this, whether it’s the Vord themselves crafting or if they’ve somehow forced Alerans into their service.”

            “Exactly,” said Gaius, “and that is why I’ve sent several teams into Vord territory to discover the source of this, including the Calderons.”

            “A good choice,” I knew well how competent the Calderons were, so much so that I sometimes found myself wishing heartily that Fidelias had managed to sway Amara to join my cause.

            “It will be an extremely dangerous mission, but a necessary one. It is my hope that they’ll be able to slip into the occupied territory while I keep the Queen’s attention fixed on Ceres.”

            I glanced at the map spread out on Gaius’s desk. It showed the precise extent of the Vord advance, just as the map in the Senatorium had. “It’s all flat land around Ceres. Not exactly a strong defensive position. If the Vord are as numerous as reported, how do you intend to defend and hold it?”

            “I don’t,” Gaius answered frankly, “ I mean to hold it long enough for my reconnaissance teams to infiltrate Vord territory and to impress upon the High Lords just what we are dealing with. After that, we’ll retreat to a more favorable location.”

            “My instinct would be to draw them away from the cities,” I mused, eyes on the map. “Try to keep them away from the civilian population and force them to give battle on favorable ground of our choosing.”

            “They’ll come for the cities whether we’re actively defending them or not,” Gaius countered. “They mean to wipe out all non-Vord life.”

            I narrowed my eyes, unconvinced luring them to the cities was the best course of action, but chose not to press the point further. “We’ll need to make killing the Queen a top priority no matter what strategy we decide to follow.”

            “Of course,” said Gaius. “If we are lucky, my presence will be enough to draw her out. If she’s as intelligent as the reports say, she’ll know that removing me will likely leave the Realm in chaos and not able to stand against her.”

            _Not if I have anything to say about it,_ I thought but chose not to say aloud. Instead all I said was, “I’d do the same if I were her. But if you’re unable to draw her out at Ceres, where do you plan on retreating to?”

            “Alera Imperia,” he replied. “A much better place to make a stand.”

            That made sense, to a certain extent. The capital was built to withstand a siege, by a conventional army at least. On the other hand it had a large civilian population which would likely need to be evacuated. “It’s the seat of my power,” Gaius elaborated. “I can hurt them the most there, if it comes to that.”

            My eyebrows rose as I considered the full implications of what he’d just said. He was prepared to unleash the city’s Great Furies if necessary. He hadn’t come right out and said it, of course, but the implication was clear. He would do what was necessary, _whatever_ was necessary. “If we are fortunate, it will never come to that,” he clarified, seeing my expression.

            “If we are fortunate,” I repeated. “I take it you have already started readying the capital’s defenses?”

            Gaius nodded. “Supplies are being laid for a siege as we speak.”

            His words reminded me that I would need to begin preparing Aquitaine for a siege as soon as I returned home. A moment of silence passed as I thought over everything I would need to do in the relatively short amount of time I’d have at home before I would need to leave for Ceres. It wasn’t exactly next door to Aquitaine, after all. I sat back in my chair, adopting a relaxed pose though I didn’t feel relaxed. “So, exactly how bad is it? How outmatched are we?”

            Gaius grimaced and looked down at the map once more. “We are facing an extremely dangerous foe with mostly inexperienced Legions. _That_ outmatched. It has been quite some time since the Legions fought campaigns nearly every year and they are woefully unprepared for a foe such as this.”

            “We have grown stagnant and complacent,” I stated plainly.

            He inclined his head slightly in agreement. “The southern Legions are the least experienced of all, right when their cities are currently threatened by the Vord. The only Legions there with recent combat experience were Kalarus’s forces and the Senatorial Guard, both of which are no more. The only other veteran Legions in the area are the Crown Legion and the First Ceresian. The others are, essentially, well-trained but largely untested.”

            “We’ll need the northern Legions if we’re to win this war,” I replied. “They’re the most experienced in the Realm. But Raucus will never leave the Shieldwall while the Icemen are attacking, and Phrygia follows his lead.”

            “That is precisely why I’ve sent an emissary to negotiate a peace with the Icemen,” said Gaius. “Isana will act as the Crown’s ambassador, accompanied by Lady Placida.”

            “Isana? Really?”

            “Yes, really. You may have noticed we are rather short on members of the House of Gaius at the moment.”

            “How could I forget?” I retorted, not quite keeping a sharp edge from creeping into my voice. He knew the true reason for my antipathy toward him. We never spoke of it, not since those horrible initial days after Septimus’s death; instead it lay coiled up between us like a sleeping serpent.

            Gaius chose not to wake the serpent. “I have every confidence that Isana is up to the task.”

            A smile formed at the corners of my mouth. “Let’s hope she has the talent for diplomacy her son seems to have.” I wondered what Raucus thought of her and how he’d react when she showed up in Antillus. He hadn’t known about her and Septimus—all he’d gotten were the same hints I had about a surprise he couldn’t wait to tell us about. Raucus and I had even speculated about what it might be in our own communications. But whatever Raucus’s opinion of Isana, he certainly hated Gaius. Nearly as much as I did, in fact. Which was no doubt why Gaius hadn’t sent Isana alone. “Good choice sending Aria Placida with her. She should help smooth things over with Raucus. They were good friends once.” Gaius gave me a significant look, almost as if to say, _So were you and Raucus._ “We’ll need to plan on no help from the northern Legions until we hear otherwise. It will take time to muster them and march them down from the Wall in any case,” I observed, eyes moving back to the map. “In the meantime, I hope you will consider my own Legions among those with experience.”

            “Among the more experienced Legions, yes,” Gaius replied.

            “I have always made sure my Legions are extremely well-trained and equipped,” I reminded him. “They saw a fair amount of action in Kalarus’s Rebellion without taking  heavy losses. I’ve been recruiting since the rebellion and all three of them are again at full strength. I’ll have them at Ceres as soon as possible.”

            Gaius nodded. “The sooner they get to Ceres, the better.”

            That would be easier said than done, for certain. Aquitaine was on the other side of the country from Ceres and it would take time for my Legions to get there. This was even more true of Riva’s Legions, who had further to go. Rhodes was the closest of the eastern cities to Ceres, but it was still some distance to cover in a short amount of time. “How much time do we have before the Vord attack Ceres?”

            “I cannot give an exact estimate, but based on their rate of advance from the Kalaran Waste thus far we have a few weeks at best.”

            “Not much time to muster the Realm’s forces and prepare for the coming attack. I take it Cereus has already been making preparations?”

            “As much as he can, yes. We won’t be enduring a siege of Ceres in any case. My plan is to evacuate our forces and begin our retreat before the Vord can trap us inside.”

            I preferred not to assume defeat was inevitable, but it was obvious Gaius was not only planning for it, but expecting it. “You truly do not think victory is possible in this battle.”

            “Possible, perhaps, but not likely.” Gaius took another sip of his wine. “The Vord hold nearly every advantage over us at Ceres—by wiping out the Legions they’ve encountered thus far, they’ve left us precious little information about their abilities and tactics. What little information we do have is not encouraging. We will be forced out of necessity to fight on a ground not of our choosing, with little time to prepare. I don’t consider it pessimism to prepare for a loss, Attis, but realism.”

            “I understand we are at a disadvantage, sire, but our people need to believe victory is possible.” I shook my head. “If we allow ourselves to give in to defeatism, then the war is already lost.”

            “Of course,” Gaius retorted, “and that is why my true intentions regarding Ceres will be known only to you and a handful of others.”

            “In the meantime, the battle will serve to convince the Citizenry to take the Vord seriously and slow the Vord down enough to give us a chance to prepare a better defense elsewhere. If we somehow manage to kill the Queen at Ceres, even better,” I reasoned. “No sense in betting on that, though. I’ll need to prepare my own city for a siege before I can meet you at Ceres.”

            “You’ll need to finish your business at home quickly,” said Gaius. ‘I need you at Ceres as soon as possible.”

            “As you command, sire.”

            “We will talk more at Ceres, when we can form a proper battle plan. You are dismissed. Try to get some sleep, as difficult as it may be under the circumstances.”

            I stood and saluted. “You ought to do the same.” With that, I took my leave of him. Being concerned for Gaius’s health was contrary to everything I’d felt toward him for the last twenty-odd years, but Alera couldn’t afford him dropping dead just before we faced the Vord. Civil War would erupt, and that would destroy us for certain. No, we needed Gaius. For now.

            Upon returning home, I made directly for the library. Unusually, I felt no urge to seek out any company for tonight. It wouldn’t have been difficult—I had plenty of lovers in the capital, especially with all the Citizenry present—but I was truly not in the mood. In truth, I was distracted. My head was spinning from the events of the day and I really wanted to retire to my bedchamber with a cup of wine and a book. There was a not insignificant chance Caria would show up wanting my attentions, in which case I resolved not to turn her away. She certainly wouldn’t be getting any attention, in bed or otherwise, from Gaius.

            I grabbed a copy of the ancient Romanic text known as the _Conquest of Gaul_ and retired to my bedchamber. A bottle of wine had already been brought up and sat on my bedside table. I poured myself a cup and settled in to read. The _Conquest of Gaul_ was one of the earliest Romanic texts, which made it somewhat challenging to read. Endless rounds of history students hated reading it. For those who did get through it, it was very rewarding. The unfamiliar names and places made it difficult, yes, but if you read enough Romanic texts you noticed the same names appearing in different texts: Rome, Gaul, Greece, Carthage. The scholarly concensus was that these were places in Alera during the Romanic period. The names had fallen out of use, though Gaul did survive in the name of the River Gaul. As for the _Conquest of Gaul_ , the author was rather arrogant and incredibly lucky, but also quite a gifted strategist.

            When I finished my cup of wine, I set the book aside, extinguished the furylamps, and tried my best to sleep. I would need to return to Aquitaine early tomorrow and it wouldn’t do for me to be groggy from lack of sleep. Unfortunately, I had far too much on my mind to fall asleep easily. When sleep finally did come, it was a relief.


	4. A Brief Visit

            I was up early the following morning. I always hate getting up early, but it was absolutely necessary in this case. There was important work to be done at home and I needed to get back there as soon as possible. Thus, I left after finishing my breakfast. I kept a handful of windcoaches, along with several of my Knights Aeris, at my manor house for occasions such as this. I made good use of them today. The trip passed quickly and before long Aquitaine came into view.

            No sooner had the windcoach set down in our windport and I stepped out of it when a small crowd converged upon me. Camilla was right at the front and she wasted no time pulling me into a tight embrace. “Is it as you feared?”

            “Yes,” I answered. “It’s everything I feared and more.” A spike of fear from her was apparent through my shields. “I’ll tell you everything presently.”

            A short while later the entirety of my family, along with Camilla, assembled in the receiving room. Tension was palpable in the room, so much so that it was obvious even without watercrafting. They likely knew of Gaius’s urgent summons and could deduce it meant nothing good. I seated myself on my throne upon the dais and faced them. For a moment I felt a sense of dread that Invidia might’ve resurfaced while I was away, but she was nowhere to be seen. I let out a small sigh of relief and began. “As all of you are no doubt aware, yesterday I received an urgent summons from the First Lord to attend an emergency meeting of the Senate. The tidings were grave: we are at war.”

            A few gasps could be heard; I ignored them and continued. “The Vord have come to Alera. I’ve spoken to some of you about the Vord before, but for those of you who don’t know they are vicious bug creatures controlled by a Queen who is hell-bent on wiping out all non-Vord life on the face of Carna.”

            Silence. The Vord might’ve seemed outlandish to someone who’d never heard of them, but my family knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t make up something like this. I described how the Vord had wiped out Legions sent to combat them and were now advancing on Ceres. “They will come for Aquitaine. Unless we can defeat them soon—and Gaius, myself, and the other High Lords are certainly going to try—our fair city will come under attack. We must be ready when that day comes.”

            “You are telling us these… bug creatures will come to attack our city if you cannot defeat them?” my elderly aunt Elania asked.

            “Yes,” I replied. “Not one city in Alera will be safe until the Vord are defeated. I must ask all of you to do everything in your power to protect Aquitaine should it come under attack.”

            Elania nodded. “Well, if these creatures want our city, they can come and take it.” Her words had a stirring effect—some of the atmosphere of fear in the room began to dissipate at a defiant statement from the matriarch of our family. I couldn’t say if she’d done a minor bit of firecrafting to give courage, but there was a definite change of mood in the room regardless.

            I turned my attention to my cousin Eolus. Since I mercifully had no legitimate children, he was my heir. There was a strong resemblance between us, though he was shorter than me and his eyes were blue rather than dark. He had my dark golden hair, worn to chin length instead of shoulder length as I wore mine. “Eolus, you will be in charge of our defense with me gone. I will be serving as the captain for the campaign and so I’ll be working closely with the First Lord on the front lines. I doubt I’ll be able to spend much time here for now, though that could certainly change depending on what happens.”

            Eolus met my gaze, his face set and determined. “I am ready to do what is necessary to defend our city.”

            I nodded in acknowledgment. “As of today, we are at war. We might as well begin preparing for it.” They knew that for a dismissal and gradually filed out of the room. I gave Eolus some more detailed instructions before he left, then turned my attention to Camilla. Her face, most notably her naturally rosy cheeks, had gone pale and her deep brown eyes were filled with worry. “You’re quite serious, aren’t you? That these Vord creatures are extremely dangerous and they’ll come for us if they’re not stopped.” Her voice was quiet and grave.

            “Yes, Camilla,” I replied, voice soft. “I wish with every fiber of my being that it weren’t so.” I gave her a soft kiss, having nothing else to say to soothe her fears.

            We walked together to my study, where I turned my thoughts to the preparations. The first thing I did was contact my Legions. At this time of year they were settled into their winter camps. The Second traditionally wintered in the northern hills dividing my lands from Riva’s while the Third wintered near the Feverthorn Jungle. The First was stationed in the city itself. I kept the message short, informing them that Alera was currently under attack by the Vord and we were now at war. They were to march to the city immediately to await further orders. I would call a meeting with all three captains once they arrived. In the meantime, I chose to pay a visit to the First.

            Their barracks were located near the city’s western gate. They were where the Legion made its winter quarters; in summer the First would usually camp in the countryside around the city while conducting training exercises. As such, the Legion consisted mainly of men from the city and its surrounding area. Naturally this meant they had family in the city and thus a strong incentive aside from patriotic loyalty to protect it.

            As soon as I set foot on the grounds, a pair of _legionares_ halted their training exercise and escorted me to the officers’ quarters. Another rushed off to inform Captain Vitellus I was there. I hardly needed an escort—I was quite familiar with the First Aquitaine, having served in it for my mandatory term of service in the Legions. I’d wanted to serve in the Crown Legion with Septimus, but my father had been absolutely adamant that I serve with the First. A High Lord had to know his own Legions and build a good rapport with them. This I’d done during my time with the First and I’d taken care to build relationships with the Second and Third as well.

            I found Vitellus in his office. The sight of him lifted my spirits a little—I’d known him for years and counted him a good friend. He was a tall, fit man with blue-grey eyes that always seemed to hold a hint of mirth. That was exactly what I’d needed when I began my term with the First Aquitaine—I’d been sulking over not being able to serve with Septimus and Vitellus took it upon himself to welcome me to the Legion.

            “I’m surprised to see you here, Attis,” he commented.

            I raised an eyebrow. “Are you really?”

            “I am. I thought any meetings would wait until the Second and Third arrive.”

            “Oh, there will be a captains meeting once they’re here,” I informed him casually. “I’m here to speak to you on the state of the First Aquitaine.”

            “Should I have the lads form up so you might review them?”

            “No, that won’t be necessary. What is the state of the Legion since the last time we spoke on the matter?” I inquired.

            “I’d say that we’re battle-ready. The months since Kalarus’s Rebellion ended gave the Legion a welcome bit of rest. We’ve kept up regular training and practice drills, of course. They’re ready for whatever you might ask of them.”

            “Good, because in all likelihood it’s going to be quite a lot.” My voice was light, but Vitellus did not miss the serious meaning of my words.

            “That serious, is it?”

            “Yes. You recall your briefings on the Vord?” He nodded. “They’re even worse than they were previously. They’ve wiped out _entire Legions_ , Vitellus. Wiped them out to a man. That’s what we’re dealing with.”

            Vitellus quickly closed his mouth on his shock. “Those crowbegotten bugs wiped out more than one Legion?”

            “Yes. I heard it directly from Gaius himself during the emergency Senate meeting he held yesterday. You know me well enough to know I wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

            He inclined his head, acknowledging the point. His face became set and hard. “Well, I promise you they won’t have such an easy time wiping out _this_ Legion.”

            “You’re damn right they won’t!” I exclaimed. “I do not intend to allow them to take our city and slaughter our people.”

            “And the First Aquitaine will stand beside you, no matter what comes,” Vitellus promised. “You’re not only our High Lord—you are one of us. Once Legion, always Legion.”

            I smiled. “Thank you, Vitellus. Now tell me about the new recruits. How have they fared?”

            “Quite well, for the most part. They’ve completed their basic training and have integrated well with the rest of the Legion.”

            “Good. Be sure to keep up with the training and drilling. We need to be ready.”

            We went over more details until it was time for the midday meal, which I chose to take with Vitellus. I bade him farewell once the meal was over and returned to the palace. I would need to have the same discussion with the captains of the Second and Third when they arrived. As I flew back to the palace, I gazed down at the city and thought back to endless rounds of lessons on military strategy. Being a student of history, I’d studied every previous occasion when Aquitaine had been besieged and how those sieges had ultimately been broken. The Children of the Sun had attacked the city more than once and done considerable damage, but they never managed to conquer it. I hoped our reputation of being unconquered wouldn’t come to an end with the Vord. As part of my lessons on strategy, my father would ask me how I would besiege Aquitaine. I’d explain my siege plans and he’d respond with how he’d counter them. It was a very educational thought exercise, almost like playing _ludus_ with him. To this day he remains one of the best _ludus_ players I’ve ever played against and I considered it a huge accomplishment the first time I managed to beat him.

            The rest of the day was taken up with making preparations for a siege. The harvest was already underway and we needed to stockpile as much food as possible inside the city. I cursed the fact that it was autumn, too late in the year for another planting before winter came. Aquitaine wasn’t exactly warm during winter and growing additional crops during a winter siege would be challenging. There were a handful of hothouses in the city which would be useful, but that was all.

            All of this was really very tedious and I was quite happy to retreat to my bedchamber and Camilla’s arms when the day was over. She kissed me with a newfound urgency, one I returned with equal ardor. Inviting her to live with me in the palace had been one of the best decisions I’d made recently. We’d been lovers for years, since she was a courtesan and I her patron. The whole city knew she was my mistress, a fact which had kept some potential patrons away from her out of fear of me. I would’ve made her my official consort years ago if it hadn’t been for Invidia, who never would’ve tolerated it. If she ever did return and took issue with Camilla residing in the palace, well, I’d deal with that when it came.

            It wasn’t long before our clothing was a pile on the floor beside my bed. Our pace slowed then and I took my time, kissing her neck, her breasts, and finally between her legs. I pleasured her slowly with my mouth, drawing exquisite moans from her lips. “Oh yes! Just like that!” I slid two fingers inside her, then withdrew to lick them slowly, savoring the taste of her.

            I sat up, then gently turned her onto her side. She spread her legs, allowing me to situate myself between them. Her foot came to rest on my shoulder as I slid inside her. My hand traveled upward to grope her breasts, then her hip before coming to rest on her thigh. Her skin was so incredibly soft—it made her quite irresistible. Camilla’s moaning grew louder and louder until she neared her climax. To that end, I slid my free hand between her legs to pleasure her. I felt her clench around me when she came, crying out my name in the process. It was followed by my own climax came a moment later. I moved out from between her legs and settled myself on the pillows beside her. Her hair was splayed out across the pillow and I buried my face in it, savoring the familiar, comforting scent. I draped an arm over her waist and rested a hand on her belly. She sighed in contentment and shifted closer to me.

            Lying beside her, I could almost forget about the incredible danger the Realm was in. Tomorrow there were war preparations to be made, but now there was only me and Camilla. I wished very much I could remain in that moment and pretend the summons had never happened. But there was no sense in denying the reality we faced. It was quite dangerous to do so, in fact. The harsh reality was that my time with Camilla would be fleeting before I had to leave for Ceres.

            The following day, I spent most of my time inspecting the city’s walls and defenses. The walls completely encircled the city, aside from the eastern side. That side was home to our Great Furies, who inhabited two large, steep peaks. The wall stopped where the peaks began. My palace was surrounded by its own wall, which also ended where it met the peaks. Looking at them, I was reminded of what Gaius had said regarding Alera Imperia. I preferred not to think about waking our Great Furies to deliberately destroy my own city, but it was entirely possible such desperate measures would be necessary.

            The city walls had their own defenses, the most prominent being numerous gargoyles evenly spaced atop the battlements. Some ancestor of mine had created them—no one could recall exactly who. I noted that I would need to give the stone to release them to Eolus before I left. All three of the city gates were built to withstand crafting attacks. They would be critical in a siege, so I instructed the Civic Legion to do everything possible to shore up their defenses. There was no way to know exactly how many defenders would be available to defend the walls, so I chose to work with a conservative estimate. Always better to underestimate than overestimate if you don’t have exact numbers. The Civic Legion would be there for certain, so I tasked them with drilling in defensive tactics.

            The Second and Third arrived the following day. The Second was first to reach the city, owing to the shorter distance they had to travel. I paid them a visit as soon as they set up camp outside the walls, then did the same for the Third once it arrived. Once I was thoroughly-informed about the state of both Legions, I summoned all three captains to the palace for a proper war meeting.

            We met in what was generally referred to as the war room. It was located on the top floor of the palace, several floors above my underground viewing chamber. Perhaps it would’ve made more sense to put those rooms closer together, but the war room offered a panoramic view of the entire city and its surroundings. The room itself was sparsely furnished, with only a desk stocked with writing supplies, two sand tables, and a few chairs. One of the sand tables was an extremely detailed model of the city. The other was a map of Alera. I’d added green sand to it depicting the last known line of Vord advance.

            “Welcome, captains,” I greeted them as they clustered around the second sand table. “I wish I had happier tidings to share than what I’m about to tell you. We are at war, and are facing an enemy more dangerous than any seen in Alera in centuries.

            “You will recall your briefings on the Vord.” All three of them nodded. “They have returned to Alera more dangerous than they were before.” I gestured to the sand table. “As you can see, they are currently advancing on Ceres. The First Lord intends to face them there.”

            “Not a good place to make a stand. It’s all flat land around Ceres, without anything to slow an enemy advance,” Captain Ilias observed. He’d been captain of the Second Aquitaine for quite some time, having been appointed by my father. Though his hair was liberally streaked with grey, he’d yet to give any indication that he was thinking of retiring.

            “I said the same thing to Gaius when I spoke with him,” I replied. “He doesn’t mean to hold Ceres—his objective for this action is to impress upon the Citizenry the dangers of the Vord. Many of them reacted with disbelief when Gaius informed them the Vord wiped out two Legions to a man.”

            They nodded grimly. Unlike the Citizenry, none of them questioned my statement—I did not pay fools to captain my Legions. “If Gaius doesn’t mean to hold Ceres, what is his strategy?” asked Tiberius, captain of the Third Aquitaine. He was perhaps halfway between Vitellus and Ilias when it came to age and length of time captaining a Legion.

            “Defensive. He intends to face the Vord from a far more defensible position: Alera Imperia.” I felt their surprise through my shields. Luring the Vord to the capital went against all the conventional wisdom we learned when studying tactics and strategy. I remained unconvinced that Gaius’s strategy was the best plan, but we were stuck going along with it for now. “Alera Imperia is right now being prepared for a siege. We should be able to hold out there for a while.”

            “Ceres’s fall is assumed, then,” observed Vitellus.

            “Yes,” I replied.

            “I don’t think hiding behind walls is the best way to deal with these things,” said Vitellus. “We ought to meet them head-on.”

            “That would be my instinct as well. I told Gaius as much, but he insisted a defensive posture was better. For now, we must follow the First Lord’s orders. He has ordered every High Lord excluding the northerners to dispatch two Legions to fight the Vord. That means two of you will be marching with me to Ceres. I’ll be on the front lines with Gaius—he has asked me to serve as captain for the campaign. Now we need to determine which Legions wil go and which will remain here to protect the city.”

            “The Third would be proud to fight beside you once more,” Tiberius proclaimed.

            I inclined my head in acknowledgment. “Then the Third will go.”

            “You know the First will follow you anywhere,” Vitellus reminded me, “but it’s also our duty to protect the city.”

            “That is true.” I glanced at Ilias, who met my eyes with a steady gaze. “Ilias, I would have the Second remain to protect the city.”

            “We would be honored to do so,” he replied. I did not detect any irritation from Vitellus—instead he was relieved. He was not one to remain away from the action. Ilias was best-suited to protect the city in any case, as his temperament was more sober and less bold than my other captains. That was exactly what was needed for the task at hand.

            “Very good.” I turned my attention to Vitellus and Tiberius. “The First and Third will march for Ceres as soon as they are fully-provisioned. We have a long journey ahead of us and not much time to make it in. Gaius didn’t give me an exact estimate of when the Vord will reach Ceres, but he told me to make for the city with all haste.”

            “Yes, my lord,” they replied, saluting.

            “My _singulares_ will be joining us, along with a good portion of my Knights Aeris and my essential staff. The Citizenry will be coming too, once I command them. They can’t be sitting safely on their estates when the Realm is in such deadly danger.” I let my gaze settle on each of them in turn as I paused to let my words sink in. “There you have it, captains. You know what needs to be done.”    


	5. The Front Lines

            The next few days passed in a flurry of activity, with my time entirely taken up with the preparations. There was much to be done, and little time for me to do it, as I needed to leave for Ceres as soon as the Legions were fully-provisioned and ready to march. I contacted my Citizens with a watersending and ordered them to send at least one member of their families to join me at Ceres. I followed this by sending couriers to every corner of my lands with news of the Vord. Should they invade my lands, I did not intend for my people to meet the same fate as those unfortunate civilians in Cereus’s lands. I advised them to get to safety if the Vord approached, in Aquitaine or the hills or even the outskirts of the Feverthorn Jungle.

            When the Legions were ready to march, I found myself more than ready to join them. I could do the most good on the front lines and if we were able to defeat them quickly, Aquitaine would never come under attack. I opted to pack light—there really wasn’t much sense in bringing more than what was necessary. As such, I chose to bring only one of my two suits of armor with me. If it happened to get damaged in the fighting, there’d be plenty of armorers on hand who could repair it.

            I was just about done packing when I was startled by the sudden appearance of Samarra. She was the newest of my dancing girls, acquired during the campaign against Kalarus. Kneeling in front of me, she lifted her gaze from the floor mosaics and spoke. “Master, I would join you on the campaign if it is your desire.”

            Samarra kneeling at my feet was a lovely sight, one I hadn’t yet grown tired of, but I had to reject her offer. “It is my desire for you to remain here, Samarra. By all accounts, I am heading into great danger and this war will be brutal, far more than Kalarus’s Rebellion was. It’s no place for you.”

            Her face fell. It never occurred to me that she enjoyed her time with me while I was on campaign so much that she’d offer to join me once more. “I thought… you might want my company,” she whispered.

            I motioned for her to rise. She got to her feet gracefully, but kept her eyes downcast. “Your company would certainly be appreciated, Samarra. Do not think this has anything to do with any dissatisfaction with you—quite the opposite. I’ll not take you into great danger just for my own pleasure.”

            Her disappointment did not diminish, but she made no further protests. She was a slave, after all, and slaves were not generally in the habit of questioning their masters. I would genuinely miss her company. She’d belonged to a Kalaran noble who fled his estate when I approached with my Legions, leaving behind most of his household. This included several bed slaves, Samarra among them. On my first night there, she offered herself to me. She’s been with me ever since.

            Leaving proved harder than I’d anticipated. Camilla clung to me the night before I was to set out for Ceres as if she could somehow keep me from leaving. When the time came for us to part the following morning, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her deeply. “Please do your best to stay safe,” she murmured, head resting against my chest. The top of her head didn’t quite reach my chin.

            “I’ll do my best, my dear, but if this war will be as brutal as I fear, there will be precious few safe places,” I said as gently as I could.

            “Come back to me.”

            “I will try my best to do so.” There was no point in uttering platitudes to comfort her. We all had to face the reality of the Vord and platitudes were of no use right now. Camilla had little patience for such things anyway. Both of us were reluctant to let go of each other. When we finally did part, I gave her one more kiss before mounting my horse. I’d already said my farewells to my family, which included giving the stone to release our gargoyles to Eolus and reminding him that he was in charge with me gone. With all the goodbyes done, we set off for Ceres.

            As I rode further from my city, I couldn’t help but steal a few glances back as Aquitaine grew smaller in the distance. A feeling of dread began to grow inside me—was this the last time I would see Aquitaine? And if I did return home again, would it be to a city under attack or destroyed by the Vord? _I will see Aquitaine again,_ I told myself as the city disappeared from view. _I will not let the Vord take my city._

            The journey from Aquitaine to Ceres was not a short one. We naturally used the causeway, which meant passing through Alera Imperia before continuing on to Ceres. It was the most direct route between Aquitaine and Ceres. The length of the journey made me impatient in my eagerness to get there, but we did make good time. I didn’t ensure my Legions were extremely well-trained and disciplined for nothing. Indeed, they’d done a quick march fairly recently, when Kalarus’s Rebellion began and I took to the field against him. They were up to the challenge.

            Fortunately for me, I had some reading material to keep me entertained on the way. In addition to the _Conquest of Gaul_ ,  I brought along the writings of Aquitainus Aemilius, known simply as _Campaigns_. He was the High Lord of Aquitaine responsible for the defeat and conquest of the Children of the Sun and had been a favorite ancestor of mine since I was a boy. Aemilius took it upon himself to write a detailed account of his campaigns. It is widely considered the best primary source on the subject and is far more readable than some of the old histories. I’d read the book a handful of times previously, but it was always an interesting read.

            Days passed until finally we arrived at Ceres. Despite the distance we had to march, we had it easier than some of the other Legions, who had to approach the city from the south and thus risk running into the Vord while en route. We encountered none at all coming from the east. It wasn’t long before Cereus’s Knights Aeris spotted us. We halted outside the city gates and were shortly joined by Cereus Macius himself. “Welcome to Ceres, Attis. I am certainly glad to see you.”

            “Thank you, Macius. I came as quickly as I could and brought the First and Third Aquitaine with me.”

            “We’re going to need every Legion we can get. Come inside and I’ll inform you on the situation here.” At Cereus’s signal, the gates opened and we entered the city. I soon parted from my Legions, with only my _singulares_ and essential staff following me to the Citadel. The damage Ceres had taken in Kalarus’s Rebellion was immediately apparent. I’d not been to Ceres in some time, indeed I’d somehow managed to avoid going there during the entirety of the rebellion. It made the damage stand out all the more. Anger and hatred flared in me again at the thought of Kalarus, how his selfish and destructive rebellion had left large swaths of the Realm weakened and unprepared to face the Vord. Ceres and its surrounding lands had been hit hard. If ever there was a man who deserved to die twice, it was Kalarus Brencis.

            “What about the other High Lords? Who else has arrived?” I asked.

            “Attica, Forcia, Parcia, Placida,” Cereus answered. “Rhodes arrived yesterday. No sign of Gaius yet.” I frowned—none of them were fighters aside from Placida and Rhodes, and Rhodes always preferred sneak attacks to direct confrontation.

            “He was still in Alera Imperia when we passed through there a few days ago. I imagine he’s focused on shoring up the capital’s defenses. Any sign of the northerners?” I dared to hope, assuming Gaius had informed him of his plan to make peace with the Icemen so the northern Legions could aid us.

            Cereus shook his head. “There’s been no word.” Not the answer I wanted to hear, but hardly surprising. Having Raucus here would’ve been tremendously helpful.

            Once we arrived in the citadel, Cereus took the opportunity to fill me in on the situation at Ceres. He’d been dividing his time between the city and the Legion he had in the field doing its best to stall the Vord advance and get the unfortunate civilians in their path to safety. It hadn’t been going well. Cereus’s forces were spread thin and too many unfortunate civilians had been caught by the Vord before they could reach the city. Efforts at stalling the Vord had been unsuccessful—according to Cereus’s estimate, they’d reach Ceres in four days, perhaps five.

            “None of that is particularly encouraging, and it gives us precious little time to prepare,” I commented once he’d finished.

            “We’ll have to do the best we can in the time we have,” Cereus replied. “Gaius isn’t intending to make a stand here regardless.”

            “He informed me of his plans when I met with him after the Senate meeting.” In that moment I couldn’t help but notice how old Cereus seemed. The trials he’d endured since Kalarus’s Rebellion began were written in every line on his face. It was a sad thing to see, and it reminded me that Cereus’s son and heir had recently fallen to the Vord. “Please accept my condolences on the death of your son.”

            “Thank you, Attis, and please accept mine for the loss of your wife,” Cereus replied.

            “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not certain Invidia’s dead. She has disappeared, that much is certain,” I explained. That rumors of her death had spread didn’t surprise me in the least. The assembled Citizenry of the Realm saw me without her at the Senate meeting, and those who knew her knew she’d never miss such an occasion. If I paid attention to the rumors, I just might get my hopes up too much. There was plenty of time for Invidia to reappear and make my life miserable once again. She was very, very good at that. “I am truly sorry for all that has befallen your city, and everything to come,” I said gently, not wanting to discuss Invidia’s disappearance further.

            “The timing couldn’t be worse," Cereus answered softly. "The Vord attacking my lands, right after we’d barely begun to recover from Kalarus’s attacks. I’d almost say it was intentional.”

            “If everything we’ve heard about the intelligence of the Vord Queen is true, it probably was. Ceres is both weakened and strategically located directly on the route from Kalare to Alera Imperia,” I offered.

            “You may indeed be right about that.”

            My hopes that I wouldn’t be asked repeated questions about Invidia’s disappearance were quickly dashed at dinner that evening, when the High Lords dined together as guests of Cereus. Having to endure Rhodes’s presence the entire time was a chore, though I was mercifully not seated next to him. Instead I was rather fortunate to be seated between Cereus and Placida. I could tolerate both of them. I used the opportunity of the meal to assess the High Lords present, and it was Lords only—not a single High Lady was there. They must’ve remained behind to see to the defense of their cities. Every High Lady was expected to be able to properly defend her city while her husband was away, even those who weren’t fighters like Invidia and Aria were. Thinking on this made me wonder for a moment what Invidia would’ve done had she been here for this. Like as not she’d have been with me on the front lines. She was too powerful a crafter to stay on the sidelines for something like this.

            Most of the High Lords present were not fighters. It was only myself, Placida, Cereus, and Rhodes who fit that description, and Cereus wasn’t exactly young. The others could very well end up being more of a liability in a fight than an asset. I soon learned that a large portion of Citizens were already in the city, with more arriving every say. That at least was encouraging.

 

 

**

            The following day most of my time was taken up reviewing Ceres’s defenses with Cereus and some of the other High Lords. As captain of the campaign, this was my responsibility while the others needed to mostly concern themselves with their own Legions and providing input when asked. The Legions themselves were crowded into the city, with the exception of the First Ceresian. Looking over the city’s defenses, still somewhat battered from fending off Kalarus’s forces, I felt a sense of foreboding grow in the back of my mind. In many ways we were shooting in the dark when it came to the Vord—we didn’t have a sense of what to expect from them aside from huge numbers and relentless attacks. The coming battle would be a test, for certain, but a good commander could always adapt his plans to the reality before him.

            Ceres’s walls were in good repair, which was something of a relief, although the scars of Kalarus’s attacks could be seen in many places. The city was not as well-provisioned as it should have been in a situation such as this, owing to the destruction the Vord had already wrought in Ceres’s lands. It was something of a relief that Gaius had no intention of enduring a siege here. The Legions, naturally, brought their own provisions.

            We spent a great deal of time going over every section of wall and each of the city’s four gates. Unlike Aquitaine, Ceres was not bordered on one side by mountains, which made it considerably harder to defend. Each side would need to be covered, lest the Vord surround the city and find a weak point in our defenses. The southern side would be hit hardest, of course. Engineers were already hard at work strengthening the gate and shoring up the defenses as best they could.

            I’d been in Ceres for two days when Gaius arrived. He traveled lightly for a First Lord, with a retinue consisting only of several Knights Aeris and a single Cursor, who I immediately recognized as the very same Cursor Octavian sent to me to warn me about the Vord all those years ago. Cereus was with him, along with a contingent of his own Knights Aeris. By the look of them, they’d just been in battle. “The First Lord was attacked by the Vord on the way here,” said Cereus, noticing my concerned expression. “There’s some new type of Vord, modeled on Knights Aeris.”

            That really wasn’t news I wanted to hear. I turned my attention to Gaius and saluted. “Are you hurt, sire?”

            “No, thankfully. It was fortunate Cereus and his Knights appeared when they did,” he answered. “We will need to have a war meeting.”

            “Yes, we certainly will,” I replied.

            A short while later, Gaius, Cereus, and I sat in Cereus’s private solar. A full war meeting with the other High Lords would come later; right now we needed to confer with Gaius. He started the meeting by asking Cereus about the state of the defenses. By now Legions from every high city in the Realm, save the shield cities, were present in Ceres. Enough to give the Vord a fight, for sure. “It will have to do,” Gaius concluded once Cereus had finished speaking. “If what you told me is true and the Vord will be here in two days’ time, there isn’t much else we can do to prepare the defense.”

            I knew the Vord were only a few days away, but hearing two days from Gaius made it so terribly final. “You are still intending to utilize the same strategy we discussed previously?”

            Gaius nodded. “Nothing I’ve seen or heard thus far has convinced me that it isn’t the best course of action. The Vord hold nearly every advantage over us here. We will use this time to do as much damage as we can and study their tactics. Knowing the enemy is the first step to defeating the enemy, and we know precious little about them now.”

            I took that as my opportunity to ask about the new Vord he and Cereus had encountered. “What of these new Vord you spoke of earlier? Do you suspect there may be other types of Vord the Queen is holding in reserve?”

            “It would not surprise me in the least if that were the case. The Vord who attacked my windcoach were clearly modeled on Knights Aeris, probably designed for the express purpose of fighting them. We are dealing with an enemy who understands us.”

            “And we have little knowledge of them, or her in particular,” I added.

            “So the Vord Queen can simply create new Vord in whatever form she desires?” asked Cereus.

            “It would appear that way,” Gaius replied. “Thus far we have been able to identify three different types of Vord. In addition to the standard form of giant bugs and these new Knights Aeris Vord, we have identified another variety modeled on the garim lizards of Kalare.”

            The information about the lizard form Vord was new to me. I couldn’t imagine what particular purpose the Vord Queen had in mind when she created them—perhaps she simply encountered garim lizards and was inspired. The Vordknights were clearly the most dangerous threat of the new Vord forms and would have to be dealt with accordingly. “If she made one type of Vord specifically to counter our forces, she’s probably made others,” I observed. “We will need to be on the alert for them.”

            Both Gaius and Cereus nodded grimly. The Queen breeding countless new types of Vord designed to counter our Legions and defenses wasn’t exactly an encouraging thought. In two days’ time, comfort would become a thing of the past.


	6. The Battle of Ceres

            The Vord arrived the following day.

            They were right on schedule. I’d harbored some small hope that Cereus’s intelligence was wrong and we’d have a bit more time to prepare, but no such luck. Gaius spent every bit of the time since his arrival planning the defense and getting everything in place. Fear and apprehension hung over Ceres like clouds, making it necessary for me to increase my shields. I couldn’t let fear get to me, not now when I had a battle to help plan. Fortunately for me, several lovers of mine were in Ceres with so much of the Citizenry present. It was not difficult to find myself some company in bed. Some would say it was utterly frivolous on my part to seek out such company while preparing to face such a deadly foe, but to them I will say that such circumstances are not a time to sleep alone.

            It was midday when Knights Aeris reported the Vord had been sighted and would in all likelihood reach the city by nightfall. That gave us a few hours to plan the attack and get our forces in place. To those ends, Gaius immediately called the High Lords together for a command meeting. “The Vord are nearly upon us,” he began, not bothering to mince words, “and it’s time we put into motion the plan we’ve discussed previously.”

            “Evacuation of the civilian population is still ongoing,” said Cereus. “We will not have the entire city evacuated by the time the Vord arrive.”

            “We will move Legions into place to assist with the evacuation,” Gaius replied. “I don’t intend to have them form up to face the Vord here.”

            “Then what exactly do you have planned?” asked Rhodes.

            “I mean to begin with a barrage of heavy crafting. An aerial attack, to start,” Gaius explained.

            “An aerial attack is an excellent idea. It will give us a chance to get a look at their forces while we’re blowing them to bits and let us get into place to counter their vordknights,” I commented.

            “Exactly. I mean to have all the High Lords begin the attack by raining lightning down on the Vord,” said Gaius. I smiled—I was quite adept at aerial attacks, particularly lightning attacks. I’ve always had a certain affinity for windcrafting, unsurprising considering wind was my first element. Loosing bolts of lightning at the Vord would be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. “We will wait until the Vord reach the walls, then I will begin the attack. Once I’ve loosed the first blast of lightning, that will be your signal to follow.”

            Our lightning attacks, combined with Gaius’s, would be enough to damage the Vord considerably and halt their advance in its tracks. I  knew how much damage my own lightning could do—combined with the other High Lords’ lightning attacks, it would be devastating. I was not so naïve, however, to assume that would be enough to win the day. The Vord, by all indications, would have surprises in store for us. We had to be ready to deal with them.

            “And what of the Legions, sire?” Placida asked. “Surely you’ll have them doing more than covering our retreat.”

            “I intend to gather all their cavalry forces together and launch a sortie from the gate. The cavalry charge, along with more lightning and fire attacks from groups of Knights and Citizens with the necessary abilities, should be enough to hold them off,” Gaius replied.

            “Good thing I mounted an entire Legion, then,” said Placida.

            My eyebrows rose—I’d heard nothing of that since arriving in Ceres. Placida must’ve mounted one of the existing Placidan Legions, as he was no Kalarus to be raising extra Legions behind the First Lord’s back. The meeting continued for some time after that, getting down to the logistics of what needed to be done. The cavalry _alae_ of every Legion in Ceres would be detached from their Legions for the charge. The Legions themselves, with the exception of most of their Knights Aeris, would be preparing for the retreat. Some were already at work escorting refugees from the city. When the meeting came to an end, I immediately contacted my Legions and Citizens to give them their orders. The Aquitainian Citizenry had more than met my demand that at least one member of each of their households come to Ceres. Whether it was because they took the Vord seriously or because they were afraid to cross me, I couldn’t say for sure. The latter, most likely. All the Citizens capable of flying and shooting either lightning or fire at the Vord would be joining the Knights Aeris in the air.

            The apprehension and fear prevalent in the city now took on a frantic air as we made the preparations, though not as frantic as it would have been if we hadn’t had a few days’ warning. I had to increase my shields even more to blot out the fear and anxiety. My own feelings were not part of it—what I felt was relief, primarily. I was tired of waiting. Let me face the Vord in battle and see once and for all what we were up against.

            I only had time for a quick meal before donning my armor. The suit was practically new, indeed I’d hardly worn it at all during Kalarus’s Rebellion. Once I was satisfied that every piece was properly buckled in place, I strapped on my sword belt and adjusted it so my sword and signet dagger hung in their usual places at my sides. My preferred sword was a duellist’s longsword since it was best-suited to my height, though I’d brought my gladius along too in case I happened to need it.

            There was nothing to do but wait for the Vord to arrive.

            Night had already fallen when they came. It was a clear autumn night, with the stars shining like jewels in the black sky. I stood atop the southern wall with Cereus when our scouts sounded the alarm. A quick sightcrafting gave me my first look at the Vord. Giant bugs was an accurate description, but it somehow failed to capture just how hideous the things were. They looked like something out of a child’s nightmare. My sightcrafting only revealed the standard and not any of the other varieties, but I was certain they were out there in the horde. The Queen would in all likelihood deploy them strategically, to counter our attacks or gain an advantage.

            It was time to get into our position. I took to the air along with the other High Lords, flying veiled so as to avoid detection by the vordknights. None had been spotted so far, but I was certain they would make an appearance at some point. Why create a new type of Vord specifically to fight Knights Aeris and not use them? We halted directly above the walls, where we could shoot the Vord as they approached the city and not be hit by Gaius’s own lightning strikes. We were spread out at bit, as we had the whole southern wall to cover. From my aerial vantage point, I watched the black swarm of Vord surge forward to meet the walls of Ceres. They moved forward in eerie silence, which served as a reminder of how unnatural they were. One would’ve expected creatures like these would make some horrifying screeching battle cries, but not a sound came from the Vord. Ceres was silent as well, as if the entire city were holding its breath before taking a plunge. We waited for Gaius’s signal.

           The Vord soon reached the base of the wall and immediately began to climb, their claws digging into rock still bearing the marks of Kalarus’s attacks. My every battle instinct, honed by years of training and experience, screamed at me to attack before they reached the top of the wall. I had to force myself to stick to the plan and trust that Gaius knew what he was doing. He might’ve failed as a First Lord in other ways, but he was certainly a competent commander. There was no strategy to the Vord attack, no massing of Vord around the guard towers on either side of the gate; the Queen meant to overwhelm us with sheer numbers. Still, no resistance came from the city.

           The first wave of Vord reached the top of the wall. Gaius was cutting this awfully close…

           Over the roar of our windstreams I heard trumpets sounding in the city. I immediately dropped my veil, as did the others. Gaius began his opening salvo. Bolts of lightning in the scarlet and azure of the House of Gaius leapt up from the walls of Ceres and twisted into eagles before slamming into the first wave of Vord. It was an awe-inspiring sight to behold, but I had no time to admire it. As Gaius continued to rake the Vord from the walls, we loosed our own bolts of lightning. Mine took the shape of my customary crimson falcons. I sent wave after wave of them at the Vord and each one hit its target. Hundreds of Vord were blasted to pieces. Around me, lightning in a rainbow of colors rained down upon the Vord. If Gaius’s attacks had been awe-inspiring, this was even moreso. This was the combined might of nearly every High Lord of Alera, something not seen in quite some time. It was enough to rip the very earth beneath the Vord apart. The roar of thunder unleashed by our bombardment was enough to make my ears ring.

           I smiled every time my crimson falcons left Vord in pieces. The sight of it gave me a rush and I felt the thrill of battle overtake me. I was made for this, indeed I had trained for years for occasions just like this. It had been some time since I’d done battlecrafting such as this and there was something so satisfying about putting my battlecrafting skills to good use. I would’ve been happy to continue shooting lightning at the Vord, but we had a battle plan to follow. I halted my barrage. All around me, the other High Lords followed suit.

           My eyes took a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness brought on by the absence of our lightning. The battlefield fell silent once more, until a second trumpet call rang out from the city. The southern gate opened and earthcrafters opened more portals in the wall itself. Riders thundered forth and the cavalry charge began. It was a heartening sight, watching the united _alae_ of every Legion present in Ceres, flying the banners of every city south of the wall slam into the Vord. Alera united, as we should have been years ago. About half of the riders bore the green standard of Placida—Sandos hadn’t been kidding about mounting an entire Legion. From my vantage point I could just make out my own standard along with the standards of the First and Third Aquitaine.

           As much as I would’ve enjoyed watching the charge from the air, it was time to head back to the wall. A few of the other High Lords had already started back. Groups of Knights Aeris and Citizens took to the sky in our place, to hammer the Vord with fire and lightning. They positioned themselves just in front of the cavalry, blasting Vord out of their way. The Vord were caught out on the open ground in front of Ceres, with no cover and nowhere to run. Something like hope rose within me as I turned away from the battlefield and back to the wall.

           Cheers rang up from the walls as I touched down on the battlements above the southern gate. For a moment I thought they were cheering for me before I noticed the defenders were watching the battle intently. They cheered loudly as the combined might of the cavalry and aerial forces drove the Vord from the walls. I did not join in the cheers—encouraging sight though it was, I was not so naïve as to think this battle was over. The Vord hadn’t yet shown any crafting, and the vordknights had yet to appear. No sooner had that thought crossed my mind when I heard it, a low buzzing sound, like a swarm of insects. I looked up to the sky, where the stars went dark as a cloud passed over them. No, not a cloud… “Vordknights,” I gasped. A pair of _legionares_ looked at me with confused expressions, then turned their eyes skyward to watch the last of the stars go dark. There had to be _thousands_ of the things. Without a word, I took to the sky and made straight for the highest tower of the citadel.

           Gaius stood on the rampart alone. If this new development surprised him, he didn’t show it. His attention was fixed on the battle, so much so that he didn’t acknowledge me until I landed beside him. I offered a quick salute, then spoke. “Now we know what the Queen was saving the vordknights for.”

           “Indeed,” said Gaius. “I hadn’t anticipated there being so many of the things.”

           “They just made our chances of having any kind of orderly retreat considerably slimmer,” I observed. Above us, Knights Aeris and Citizens made desperate dashes for the city. “We need someone to fly out there and draw out the Queen and any other weapons they might have.”

           Gaius met my eyes. His had taken on a cold, hungry gleam. “You have someone in mind?” he asked, voice mild.

           “Rhodes.”

           “I was thinking the same. He is a skilled crafter, the Citizens will take his death seriously. And I suppose you’d be glad to be rid of an ambitious and troublesome neighbor.”

           “Yes,” I replied, “but that’s not the only reason.”

           “Oh?” Gaius inquired. “And what is your other reason?”

           “You know.”

           Gaius made no response. He knew. Perhaps some part of him had come to doubt my love for Septimus after all these years, but deep down he knew.

           There was no need for further discussion. Gaius sent a courier to fetch Rhodes and he  joined us on the tower promptly. I schooled my features into a mask so as not to give the game away. Gaius wasted no time. “Martinus, our forces are being routed in the field. We are in need of someone to take to the field and inspire them.”

           “You are quite a skilled crafter,” I added. “Skilled enough to take on the Vord yourself.” I kept my voice as carefully neutral as I could, but Rhodes still shot me a suspicious glare. He had the cold eyes of a snake.

           “Lord Aquitaine is right,” said Gaius. “A crafter of your skill would surely be able to mount a serious challenge to the Vord and draw out the Queen. Your bravery will encourage the Citizens to rally and save our retreat.”

           Rhodes looked back and forth from me to Gaius. “And why does Lord Aquitaine not fly up there himself?” His gaze came to rest on me. “Surely a crafter of your power could challenge the Vord just as well.”

           “Because I am needed here to command and organize the retreat,” I answered smoothly. “I am captain of this campaign, you will recall.”

           “You would earn glory for such an action, Martinus. Glory, and the admiration of those now in need of assistance,” Gaius added.

           Rhodes was quiet as he considered our suggestion. I dared not lower my shields now lest the emotions of battle overwhelm me, but I didn’t need my watercrafting to imagine Rhodes’s primary instincts were at war with each other. Should he go against his hatred and trust Gaius and me or miss a chance at glory? In the end, his hunger for glory won out. “Very well. I’ll gather my Knights and fly out to challenge the Vord.” There was a note of triumph in his voice; I suppose he thought he’d won some victory over me by robbing me of this chance for glory.

           “The Alerans you save today will thank you, Martinus,” said Gaius. Rhodes saluted, then shot me a smug grin before leaving. Let the fool think he’d gotten the better of me; he’d soon be relieved of that notion. I took my own leave of Gaius shortly after Rhodes’s departure and flew down to the wall surrounding the lower level of the citadel. The Vord were not yet in the city, but it was only a matter of time. There would be no salvaging victory from the jaws of defeat today, but perhaps the disastrous rout could be averted. A plan formed in my mind and I quickly dispatched several couriers with messages while I watched the sky for Rhodes.

           A golden star of light ascended into the sky—Rhodes, with sword ignited. Despite everything, despite the battle raging, excitement filled me as Rhodes flew to meet his fate. With a sightcrafting, I watched as he flew higher, Vord flocking to him like moths around a furylamp. I very nearly lost my focus when a piercing, ear-splitting shriek rang out across the battlefield. A moment later, a globe of sickly green light surged upward to meet Rhodes. There was a brilliant flash of light, so bright I had to drop my sightcrafting and close my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, the golden star of light that was Rhodes was falling, falling like a comet crashing to earth. The light flickered, then went out before he hit the ground in the middle of the Vord.

          The Marat had swarmed Septimus and nearly overwhelmed him when Kalarus and Rhodes made their move. His body had been so badly mangled by their attacks that it was nearly impossible to identify. But I knew it. I would’ve known it anywhere.

          I smiled.

          At long last, Rhodes Martinus was dead.

          Septimus was avenged.

          More than twenty years I’d waited for this. I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I’d fantasized about killing Kalarus and Rhodes personally. It kept me going through the depths of my grief after Septimus’s death, the promise of revenge. The second of Septimus’s murderers was now dead, and this time I’d had a hand in it.

          With some effort, I pushed my elation at finally getting my long-awaited revenge aside and focused my attention on the task at hand. There was a retreat to salvage, and there were Alerans in need of my help.


	7. The Fall of Ceres

            On any other occasion I might’ve taken more time to rejoice in the death of my hated enemy, a death I’d desired for years. This was not such an occasion. The battle was fast becoming a full-fledged rout and trumpets were sounding the signal to retreat. It had turned into a disorganized mess and the exact opposite of what Gaius had intended for the retreat. Something had to be done to halt the rout, and soon. The vordknights still darkened the sky and they had to be dealt with to give the cavalry struggling against a rising tide of Vord a chance to escape. A couple of minutes passed before the first of the Knights Aeris and Citizens I’d sent for joined me atop the citadel wall. They were soon joined by others until I had a good-sized group of perhaps two hundred gathered closely around me. None of them wore armor free of the signs of battle and many bore minor wounds. Yet they were still standing and by standing before me they indicated they were ready to fight.

            “I’ve called you all here because there are men out there in need of help and I have a plan,” I stated simply. “We’ve got to do something about those vordknights. If we don’t, any chance of orderly retreat is lost. We will take to the skies together and drive them back. If we fly together in close formation, our windstreams will act like a wall of air and push them back.” I swept my gaze over the whole group. “I know you are afraid. You’d be damn fools if you weren’t. But true courage is not the absence of fear but rather the mastery of it. So I ask you now to master your fear and join me. Alera needs us.”

            They nodded grimly and none raised any objections. We formed a line with me taking up position in the middle. Together, we took to the air. As soon as my feet left the wall, I unsheathed my sword and ignited it. I held it aloft as if I were pointing the way to the Vord. I daresay I looked much the same as Rhodes did when he rose into the sky with his sword ignited. The result would not be the same. As the vordknights loomed closer, I poured courage into the firecrafting of my sword. Now was not a time to give into fear and terror and we could all use a bit of extra courage to help us master our fear.

            Some vordknights were flying to meet us now; I greeted them with a bolt of scarlet lightning. It struck the vordknights squarely and they fell to earth in charred pieces. I quickly followed it up with another bolt while my companions shot their own lightning at the Vord. I dared a downward glance when I had a moment and saw what was left of our cavalry riding hard for the gate. It was working, we just needed to keep the vordknights busy long enough to get the cavalry to safety.

            I gave the order to spread out a bit. We were still moving in fairly close formation, but I needed our windstreams to act as a barrier to as many vordknights as possible. Their wings were not powerful enough to overcome the wall of air that was our combined windstreams. Bit by bit we moved forward, pushing them back. I held my sword aloft in my right hand while shooting lightning at the vordknights with my left. They hadn’t yet come close enough for me to need my sword. Our lightning lit up the sky in a rainbow of colors as the stars re-emerged one-by-one from behind the black cloud of Vord. The limited light they provided, along with the moon, our lightning, and my own sword allowed me to get my first real look at the vordknights. They were just as Gaius and Cereus described—a Vord version of Knights Aeris, but with insect-like wings on their backs. They did not seem to be able to fly as fast as a Knight Aeris, which was a relief. They might’ve outnumbered us massively, but we had the greater speed and agility.

            As we continued to hammer the Vord with lightning, I felt a cold wind at my back. That wasn’t unexpected, as high up as we were, but this was particularly icy. It was unseasonably cold, in fact. Another downward glance revealed a thick fog rising to cover the battlefield. The wind grew colder until I had to suppress an urge to shiver. Suddenly, the fog leapt skyward, moving faster than a natural fog ever would to meet the cold wind. It hit me full in the face as it rose, a welcome gust of warm air. A moment later it began to rain.

            It was obvious this was no natural storm—Gaius had called the cold winds down from the north and raised the fog from the nearest bodies of water. His intention was clear: he meant to ground the vordknights, betting on their insect wings being unable to fly in the rain. The rain itself was icy cold, the sort which fell in winter when it wasn’t quite cold enough to snow. I was glad in that moment that I’ve a high tolerance for cold. Even so, it wasn’t long before I was thoroughly drenched and my wet hair was plastered to the back of my neck. Ahead of us, the vordknights were in disarray as they struggled to fly. The giant mass of them were moving away from us and toward the ground. The light from my sword glinted off crusts of ice on the wings of the nearest vordknights. Those who were unable to fly down fast enough simply plummeted to earth when their wings ceased to function. Gaius’s plan was working well. The retreat was saved. Our work in the air was done.

            “Head back to the city!” I shouted, using my other wind fury to carry my voice. “Make for your rally points.” At once, we turned and flew back to Ceres. A thin crust of ice had formed on the shoulders and bracers of my armor and my sword had begun to smoke from contact with the rain. Rain could’ve extinguished the swords of lesser firecrafters, but not mine. I kept the sword ignited as I flew back to the city; it left a plume of smoke behind me.

            Instead of heading to my rally point with the Aquitainian Legions, I made for the citadel tower. Gaius was exactly where I’d left him, though now he was accompanied by the same Cursor who’d come with him to Ceres. I extinguished my sword as I landed atop the wall, nodded once to the Cursor, and saluted Gaius. “It’s working,” I informed them, not bothering with pleasantries. “Their wings can’t handle the ice.”

            “Naturally,” Gaius replied. The exertion of creating the rain showed clearly on his face. Even in the dim light, I could see his skin had taken on a greyish cast. “We’ll fall back to Uvarton, cutting the causeway every mile as we go.”

            I turned away from them to study the battlefield, frowning. “Their greatest advantage is their mobility, their flight. We should move forward with every _legionare_ , now, and take them head-on.” With the vordknights grounded, we had an opportunity to deal the Vord some heavy losses.

            “Their greatest advantage is the ability of the Vord queen to coordinate their movements,” Gaius countered. “If we march our men out there into the dark and the storm, it will be a hopeless mess. The Vord will have no such disadvantage. We retreat. More of our reinforcements will meet us every day.”

            “As will theirs. We should hit them now, hard, try to thin them out,” I argued. We probably wouldn’t be able to defeat them, true, but we could at least do more damage.

            Gaius remained unconvinced. “If need be, I’ll ground them again, Your Grace. We retreat,” he repeated in a tone which invited no argument.

            I studied him intently for a moment. His face was set and hard. “This is the wrong move.”

            “Were I a young man, I would think so as well,” said Gaius. “If you would be so kind, please notify the other High Lords. Sir Ehren, please take word to the Crown Legion and to the First and Third Imperian.”

            I saluted Gaius, stepped onto the battlements, and leapt off. Locating the other High Lords was not difficult. They were at their rally points with their Legions, trying their best to retreat in some semblance of order. None of them raised any objections. Indeed, some of them seemed relieved. Raucus would’ve joined me and objected to the retreat, but he wasn’t there. Cereus was the last High Lord I approached. It took a bit of time to find him, as he wasn’t with the First Ceresian. I eventually located him on the citadel walls.

            “Macius, we have to go. Gaius has ordered a retreat.”

            He turned to face me with a start, as if he’d just noticed I was there. “Yes, I suppose there’s not much else to be done.”

            “I argued against this, but he overruled me.”

            “No, this was the right decision,” said Cereus. “It was inevitable, from the moment the Vord set foot in my lands.”

            “Maybe, but the Vord’s ultimate victory is nowhere near assured. We’ll be making for Uvarton, and from there Alera Imperia,” I offered.

            Cereus nodded, then turned to face his city. “My lands destroyed, my city lost, so many of my people slaughtered. We fought off Kalarus, only to fall to the Vord a couple of years later. Ironic, really.” He turned back to me. “I hope you won’t have to experience this.”

            “That makes two of us. I’m truly sorry for what’s befallen your city, Macius. We’ll make them pay for it.”

            Cereus nodded, a determined expression coming over his face. I took my leave of him, then, and finally made for my own rally point. Both Vitellus and Tiberius were there, much to my relief. Losing my captains at a time like this would’ve been a terrible loss. “Everything’s in place, Your Grace. All non-combatants attached to our Legions have already been evacuated. The Legions are ready to begin the retreat,” Tiberius informed me.

            “Very good. We will be falling back to Uvarton, then making for Alera Imperia as per the First Lord’s orders.”

            “Most of our Knights and cavalry were able to make it back,” Tiberius continued. “They’ve rejoined the Legions already.”

            “Casualties?”

            “We don’t have any sort of official count yet, but from what we can tell they’re not heavy.”

            I let out a huge sigh. “Great Furies, that’s a relief.”

            “The wounded have already been sent ahead with the healers.”

            “It seems you’ve got everything well in hand. We’d best be on our way.” A short while later, Vitellus and I rode at the head of the First Aquitaine as it marched out of Ceres’s eastern gate. We were one of the last Legions out, though not the very last. That was the First Ceresian, along with what remained of their Civic Legion. They’d been determined to defend their city to the last man and would have done so if not for Gaius’s order. I’d no doubt Cereus was with them. Vitellus and I rode side-by-side, with only the standard bearers ahead of us. Tiberius had left us to join the other officers of the Third, which marched alongside us. I had to admit the sight of my own standard and that of the First lifted my spirits a bit, though both standards were currently soaking wet from the rain. My own cloak was just as sodden, and I heartily wished I had my waterproof one on hand. The ice which had formed on my armor I melted off.

            The rain continued to pour down as we made our way east along the causeway. It was a nuisance, but a necessary one. I hoped it would last long enough for us to reach a place of relative safety. Despite Gaius’s assurances that he’d ground the vordknights again if needed, I was seriously skeptical he was up for it. Behind us, the Ceresian engineers were at work cutting the causeway; I sent my own engineers to assist them.

            There was no immediate pursuit from the Vord, which was an immense relief. None of them could be seen as we made our escape through the eastern gate, which struck me as rather odd. The Queen’s entire strategy was based on overwhelming us with sheer numbers, but surely she could see the sense in cutting off our escape route. Yet instead of surrounding the city and trapping us inside, she’d simply thrown her forces at the southern wall. That she essentially let us escape meant either she wasn’t as intelligent as we thought, or she felt she had such a huge numeric advantage that she could wipe us out at will. That wasn’t a comforting thought, and I couldn’t shake the suspicion that we’d been allowed to leave. I found myself glancing behind me periodically, expecting the Vord to appear any moment. It didn’t escape Vitellus’s notice. “You’re rather anxious.”

            “How could I not be, given the circumstances? Something doesn’t feel right. Why didn’t the Queen use her huge numbers to surround Ceres and cut off our escape?”

            “Probably thought she could’ve overwhelmed us with numbers alone,” Vitellus speculated. “We should’ve gone on the attack once Gaius grounded the vordknights.”

            “That’s what I suggested to Gaius, but I was overruled. We could’ve at least thinned their numbers and then retreated once we’d done some damage,” I replied. “I’ve got a feeling we’re going to regret not killing more of them when we had the chance.”

            “I think you’re right,” Vitellus said with a grimace. “Bloody dangerous things, aren’t they? The reports didn’t exactly prepare me for… _that._ They killed a High Lord!”

            “Yes, reading about them doesn’t quite manage to capture the full horror. Now all the Citizenry have to take the Vord seriously.”

            “Anyone who wouldn’t is a fool.” He glanced over at me. “Can’t imagine you’re too upset about Rhodes.”

            “Of course not. I’ve wanted that murdering bastard dead for years.” I chose not to share with Vitellus that Gaius and I conspired to send him out alone against the Vord. That would stay between Gaius and myself.

            “I’m not too broken up about it myself,” said Vitellus. He didn’t have the hatred of Rhodes I had because of his role in Septimus’s murder, but rather the age-old rivalry between Aquitaine and Rhodes.

            Now that I had time to think, my thoughts turned back to Rhodes’s death. I didn’t get a good look at who- or- _what_ had killed him, but I felt fairly certain in my assumption that it had been the Vord queen. Rhodes made a direct challenge to the Vord and the Queen had to know killing a High Lord would be a blow to our morale. That bright light I’d seen before Rhodes fell was firecrafting. It had to be, unless the Vord had some other power unknown to us. If my guess was correct and it had been firecrafting which had killed Rhodes, justice had been served and vengeance was all the sweeter. The image of Septimus’s mutilated body, hideous burns rendering him nearly unrecognizable, came to mind unbidden. I would’ve liked very much to blot that image from my mind forever, but I am quite certain it will never leave me. You don’t forget the sight of your best friend’s mutilated body. At least now both men who’d murdered Septimus were dead. There was great satisfaction in that.

            We continued marching through the night. The rain did not relent, which made it a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I couldn’t say exactly how long we marched, only it was still dark when we reached Uvarton. The march had taken long enough for every part of me not covered by armor, excluding my hands and feet, to be drenched to the bone. It might not’ve been as cold as it was in the air, but the rain was icy enough that I was rapidly reaching the limits of my tolerance for cold. It was the sort of weather which made you long for a hot bath and a cup of hot mulled wine.

            Uvarton was a decent-sized town. It was strange to think I’d passed this way less than a week ago in quite different circumstances, on my way to Ceres. I’d hardly bothered to pay attention to the town as we passed through since we hadn’t stopped there and now I found myself hoping they had a decent bathhouse. After I saw to it that my Legions had suitable lodgings, I went off to join Gaius and the other High Lords.

            It turned out that Uvarton had an inn, which would be serving as Gaius’s temporary headquarters for the duration of our stay. All of the High Lords had been offered rooms. I chose to accept the offer, as did the others. I am a believer in sleeping in my tent from time to time to show my _legionares_ I’m willing to endure what they endure, but tonight was not one of those nights. I really wanted that warm bath.

            Fortunately, the inn had its own baths. I headed straight there as soon as I was out of my armor and had some clean clothes brought to my room. Evidently I wasn’t the only one wanting a bath, for I spotted Attica leaving the baths on my way there. I was relieved I wouldn’t have to share the bath with him, not because I particularly disliked him but because I always felt slightly awkward when interacting with him. I’d been bedding his daughter for years, after all. I’d been in that situation with plenty of other men to be sure, but their daughters weren’t the _First Lady_.

            There was no one else in the baths when I stepped inside. I wasted no time peeling off my wet clothes and soaking myself in the warm water. I was surprisingly clean for someone who’d just been in battle—spending most of it in the air would do that—and I’d been fortunate enough not to be wounded. The bath was mostly to warm myself from the chill and once I was sufficiently warm I used my furies to dry myself and returned to my room. I sank into my bed and it wasn’t long before I succumbed to sleep.


	8. Retreat

            I woke shortly after dawn, not permitting myself to sleep late. We would need to be on the march soon—the Vord were not going to give us time to do more than catch our breath, if that. Uvarton’s walls could no more hold them back than Ceres’s could. It was essential that we be ready to depart at a moment’s notice, so I donned my armor before going to breakfast.

            Gaius was seated at the head of the largest table in the common room, the ever-present Cursor Ehren hovering behind him. Several of the other High Lords were seated around the table. The chair next to Gaius was empty, so I took the liberty of seating myself there. A respectable breakfast had been laid out before us. I opted for a couple thick slices of bread, which I smeared with apricot preserves. It had been a while since I’d eaten, but in truth I didn’t feel like eating much else. I was too apprehensive and eager to be on our way.

            “The civilian evacuations are proceeding as planned,” Gaius was saying. “Groups have already left Uvarton and are heading to the next town.”

            “That’s a relief. We’ve got to do everything we can to keep them away from the Vord,” Placida commented.

            “Yes. I have also sent the Crown Legion ahead to Alera Imperia to ensure the city is ready for our arrival,” said Gaius, “and we must begin preparations to leave as soon as possible.”

            “The Vord caught up to us quicker than anticipated. Cutting the causeway hasn’t had as much of an effect as we’d hoped,” said Cereus. The fate of his city was written on his face. I kept my own face carefully impassive—part of me wanted to point out that this could’ve been averted if we’d followed my plan and killed more Vord before retreating, but I restrained myself. An “I told you so” comment would do no good at the moment.

            Gaius frowned. “I’d hoped cutting the causeway might slow them down more and buy us some extra time, but it appears that isn’t the case. The entire town must be evacuated ahead of us as well.” The discussion then moved to the logistics of the evacuation. I stayed long enough to finish my breakfast and receive my next set of orders, then left to rejoin my Legions. Flavius I’d already ordered to pack the few belongings I’d brought to the inn and join the Legions’ non-combatants as they left the town. Uvarton wasn’t a large enough town to have barracks big enough to house even a single Legion, so it was necessary to quarter them elsewhere in the town. It made things rather crowded, considering how many Legions we had with us. When I arrived, I was pleased to see both my Legions were nearly ready to march.  Vitellus and Tiberius looked as though they’d gotten some decent rest, which was encouraging.

            “We’re to begin marching soon,” I informed them. “The town’s already being evacuated. Once all the civilians are gone, the Legions will take their places behind them.” They nodded. Both of them were already armored. “We’re to be taking a position near the front of the column, since we were close to the back last time.”

            “Sensible,” said Vitellus, “though I think we’d all like another shot at the crowbegotten bugs.”

            “I don’t think you’ll need to wait long for that chance.” As we spoke, the townspeople were loading wagons and preparing for the evacuation. The scent of smoke pulled my attention away from my Legions. It was too strong to be coming from typical sources. A quick scan of the surrounding area proved my suspicion correct. A building, perhaps two streets away, was burning and more smoke could be seen in the distance. “Crows take it,” I cursed. This was the last thing we needed while evacuating the town and making ready to march. If the fires weren’t extinguished they would spread and cause panic, and panic would be devastating in a situation such as this. I parted from my captains and headed off in the direction of the nearest blaze.

            Putting out the fire would be no great difficulty—any of the High Lords could do it, even Riva. As I approached, I saw the fire had spread from one building to those around it. Below, a group of townspeople appeared to be fighting each other. _Great,_ I thought _, we need this even less than the fire!_ Circling closer, I noticed one side was quite clearly outmatched. A few bodies lay in the road. Fighting to kill seemed rather extreme for the typical sorts of disagreements, unless…

            Unless the attackers had in fact been taken by the Vord.

            We’d hardly discussed the possibility of the Vord using their takers against us in our planning sessions. It didn’t seem necessary, given the huge army the Queen had at her disposal. I suppose that’s precisely why the Queen did it—to strike at us in a way we weren’t expecting. The vordknights must’ve dropped takers into Uvarton while we slept, or perhaps before we arrived. I had to suppress a shudder at the thought of the things—being bitten by one and turned into a mindless slave of the Vord was a fate worse than death. I resolved then that I would not permit such a fate to befall me. If I was to die in this war, I would die as myself.

            As I landed near the fighting, I thought on what I knew of the taken. Aldrick’s report had said they could only furycraft if you used crafting against them first. Sword only, then. “Over here!” I shouted, drawing mine. “Come at me.”

            About half the taken turned and rushed toward me. The closest one sent a fireblast at me; I dodged it and plunged my sword into his chest. Igniting it would’ve been useful, but I chose not to risk it. I yanked my sword free and faced my next attacker. It was an older man and he wielded a large wooden plank which looked like it’d been ripped from a floor. I dodged his swings and called on my wind furies to enhance my speed. His strength might’ve been enhanced by the taker, but they couldn’t give him actual fighting skills. My sword soon found its way past his impromptu weapon and through his neck. “Get out of here!” I shouted to the cornered civilians. “Run!”

            They didn’t need to be told twice.

            The remaining taken now converged on me. I smiled—it had been a while since I’d used my sword exclusively in a fight. It was for occasions such as this that I made sure to practice the sword regularly. Easy to keep the skills sharp when you had Aldrick ex Gladius as a sparring partner. Some of the taken came at me with more improvised weapons while others used crafting. It made no difference. With windcrafting-enhanced speed, I easily evaded their attacks. More bodies soon covered the ground.

            The last of the taken was a young girl, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. The deaths of her fellows didn’t slow her down in the least and she attacked me with a metal bar which looked like it might’ve been part of a fence or railing. It was rather disconcerting, as I am not generally in the habit of fighting teenage girls. The eyes helped, at least. All of the taken had the same dead eyes, devoid of any life or expression. She swung the bar at me; I sliced it in half, then followed up by stabbing her through the heart. I quickly scanned the area for more taken and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the street was deserted.

            As I wiped my sword clean on the tunic of one of the taken, I noticed something crawling out of his mouth. It was a hideous creature, like a large centipede with pincers and covered in the same chitin in the other Vord. So this was a taker. I promptly squashed it under my boot before it could even think of biting me. I scanned the area once more to make sure no more taken had appeared, then set fire to the bodies. Best not to take any chances, especially with the takers. The fire which had caught my attention earlier was out now; someone must’ve put it out while I was occupied with the taken.

            Once the bodies were reduced to ash, I took one last look to make sure the takers had burned, then flew back to join my Legions. More burning buildings could be seen in the distance. I would need to do my part to help extinguish them after seeing to my Legions. I found them exactly where I’d left them, only they were now being set upon by a sizable group of taken. Several _legionares_ were down. No civilians could be seen in the immediate area, which was a huge relief. I quickly slew the nearest taken, then took my place at Vitellus’s side. “You can’t use any crafting to attack them,” I told him.

            “Yes, we noticed,” he said drily, driving his sword through the chest of a taken woman. Behind us, the _legionares_ formed a shield wall and did their best to hold off the taken without crafting. A handful of the other officers, along with my own _singulares_ , clustered around Vitellus and I. He was a good swordsman, and between all of us we soon ended all of the taken.

            “Get the wounded to the healers’ carts. That’s the best we can do in the current circumstances. And be sure to burn the bodies of the taken before the takers can come out and bite anyone else,” I instructed.

            “Come out?”

            “They leave the body of their host once it is killed. If they’re not killed now, they’ll just turn more Alerans into taken. Personally, I’d rather not be turned into a mindless slave by the Vord.” Vitellus nodded and signaled for Knights Ignus to come forward. Before they could act, I quickly used a bit of windcrafting to lift a taker which had just crawled out of the mouth of the nearest taken, then headed off to the supply wagons as the Knights Ignus set fire to the bodies. I had to search a bit before I found something I deemed strong enough to hold the taker. The metal box contained arrowheads, which I transferred to another box before dropping the taker inside and sealing the box with a bit of metalcrafting. As many people as possible needed to see what these things looked like so they could be on the lookout for them.

            The retreat from Uvarton turned out to be a disorganized mess. I suspect that was precisely the Vord’s objective in dropping takers into the town. My Legions were thankfully able to retreat in reasonably good order, though we’d taken losses in the attack. The civilians hadn’t fared nearly as well. Many of them had fled the town when the taken attacked and we couldn’t account for them. Some made for the causeway and currently trudged along with us, but others had likely fled into the surrounding countryside to escape the Vord. There was nothing to be done for those unfortunate souls—it was imperative that we reach Alera Imperia as soon as possible.

            Once we’d been on the march for perhaps an hour, I left my Legions in search of Gaius. I found him traveling in a covered wagon surrounded by his personal guards. The First Lord was not apparently feeling up to riding, which was worrisome. I rode up beside the wagon and handed him the box containing the taker. “I was able to capture a taker after disposing of several taken who were attacking my Legions,” I explained, opening a small hole in the top of the box large enough for Gaius to see the taker but not large enough for it to escape. “As many people as possible need to get a look at a taker so they can be on their guard. At the very least the other High Lords and the Legion captains should see it.”

            Gaius nodded. “I confess I did not consider that the Vord would drop takers into Uvarton while we slept. We’ll need to be on guard in case she tries it again tonight.”

            “She must’ve used the vordknights to do it once the rain stopped,” I mused. “I had a thought about how we might protect ourselves from the takers, sire. Why not have every earthcrafter set their furies to guarding our camps from the takers?”

            “A good suggestion,” Gaius replied. “I’ll speak to the Legion captains about it.”

            “I suspect we’ve only seen the beginning of the surprises the Vord have in store for us.”

 

**

            In the days that followed, my prediction was proven horribly right. The Queen’s reason for not pressing harder against us at Ceres became very clear—she had sent Vord ahead to sabotage our avenue of retreat. There were no more taken, thankfully, but the other surprises the Vord left for us were nearly as troublesome. At Marsford the Vord poisoned the wells, causing the deaths of far too many _legionares_ and civilians both before we realized what happened and leaving many others too ill to march. As a result, we had only a very short reprieve before we had to continue on. After that, the Vord used their crafting to call frigid air upon us. The southern Legions, which made up the bulk of our forces, were for the most part not equipped to handle this. Winters were mild in the gentle climate of the Amaranth Vale. Without proper blankets and clothing, many _legionares_ succumbed to frostbite. My Legions fared better, as did the Placidan and Rivan Legions. Every Aquitainian _legionare_ had a warm bedroll and clothing for winter. They’d been in their winter quarters before I summoned them, after all. Winter is quite cold at home, especially in the northern hills. On those cold nights I lit a brazier in my tent and wrapped my fur-lined coverlet tightly around myself. Every night earth furies patrolled the perimeter around our camp, watching for takers.

            We continued on. The Vord hadn’t quite managed to catch us with the main body of their forces, but they didn’t need to. The civilians were exhausted, especially those who’d been on the run from the Vord since before the battle. The idea had been for the Legions to march behind the civilians to protect them from the Vord, but that had fallen apart after the first day. Groups of civilians struggled along behind Legions, or beside them. Their terror was obvious without any watercrafting. I tried to do my best to lift the spirits of the civilians I encountered, but there was only so much I could do when the Vord laid a new trap for us everywhere we stopped.

            The vordknights made another appearance at Vadronus, forcing Gaius to ground them again while we made another desperate escape. A full night’s sleep and regular, decent meals became rarities. It was fortunate for me that I can function with only a couple hours of sleep if necessary. I don’t like it, but I can do it. I tried to keep up appearances despite the circumstances as best I could. Some would think this frivolous, but it serves a purpose. A High Lord’s strength is in the hearts and minds of his followers, and part of that is looking the part. Being good-looking certainly helped. So did wearing my armor, which was a necessity given the situation.

            Progress was considerably slower than it would’ve been had it been only Legions marching. Indeed, I’d done this very march with my Legions much faster when we passed this way only last week. It felt like an eternity had passed since then. Had I really been at home with Camilla, happier than I’d been in years, less than a month ago? Every time thoughts of Camilla or home came up, I swiftly dismissed them—they would only make my current situation more miserable. When we finally reached the last town before Alera Imperia, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

            It was a good-sized town, unsurprising given its proximity to the capital. Myself, Gaius, and the other High Lords were offered rooms in the town’s largest inn. We sent as many civilians as we could onward to Alera Imperia. If we were lucky, we’d get at least a short reprieve once we were there. We couldn’t be certain exactly how far away the Vord were—for all we knew the Queen might’ve sent packs through the countryside to take us by surprise. We would not be lingering long in any case.

            Once we were settled in, I met with Gaius to discuss his plans. Somehow he looked even worse than he had at Ceres. The strain of grounding the vordknights and the hardships of the retreat had clearly taken their toll on him. He had to know he was dying. His personal physician had come from Alera Imperia to attend him, trying his best to stave off the inevitable for a little while longer. A year ago, I’d have felt triumphant in the knowledge that Gaius wasn’t long for this world; now my mind was filled with worry. Who would become First Lord when he died? I’d certainly positioned myself well and both my rivals were dead, but there were some who would certainly contest me claiming the throne. We absolutely could not have any internal strife right now. Then there was the matter of Octavian, who was technically the heir. No one knew where exactly he was or if he was even still alive, however. I had to trust that Gaius had some kind of plan in mind, given the dire situation we were in, though his inaction on this matter since Septimus’s death didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

            “Captain Miles has arrived to inform me that the Crown Legion has made Alera Imperia ready for our arrival,” said Gaius.

            “Good. Now all we need to do is make it there in one piece. What of the refugees?”

            “According to the reports I’ve received, some of them have already arrived in Alera Imperia.”

            “That’s better than none, at least,” I replied. “How long do you think we’ll be able to hold out in the city?”

            “I can’t say precisely. Longer than Ceres, I hope. We’ve had more time to prepare, at least.”

            That statement wasn’t nearly as reassuring as it should’ve been. I reminded myself that our chances at Alera Imperia were much better than they’d been at Ceres, but I would be lying if I said that the days since the battle hadn’t dampened my hopes. The Queen had planned ahead, leaving traps along our avenue of retreat; it was extremely likely she had surprises in store for us at Alera Imperia as well. _We have surprises of our own,_ I reminded myself, _and we will not fall without a fight!_


	9. Temporary Sanctuary

            When Alera Imperia came into view after another day of hard marching, I cheered along with my Legions. And probably the entirely of our forces. I daresay some of the refugees wept with joy at the sight as well. We had made it. It hadn’t been an easy or orderly retreat, but we’d made it. Gaius had time to prepare and Alera Imperia wouldn’t fall as easily as Ceres had.

            At least I hoped it wouldn’t.

            The first order of business was to see to the Legions. All of them had made it out of Ceres, though some were considerably more intact than others. It was decided that most of them would be quartered in the city while some others would camp outside the walls. I was eager to volunteer my Legions for the latter category. I liked that much better than being quartered in the city—it was easier to break camp and allowed for greater mobility. I myself would not actually be encamped with them, however. As important as it was to maintain that connection with my Legions, it made more sense to reside in my manor for now. I would be making frequent trips to the Citadel to meet with Gaius and the other High Lords, and my manor was much closer than my tent was.

            I made straight for the manor as soon as my Legions were situated in their camps. The first thing I did once I arrived was change out of my armor. I’d been wearing it more often than not since the retreat began, had even slept in it on a couple of occasions. It was a relief to be rid of it for now and change into regular clothes. The next thing I did was contact Eolus. My study here was smaller than my study at home and as such didn’t have a fountain pool; instead I used a silver basin Flavius kept filled with water. I didn’t have to wait long before Eolus responded to my watersending. “Hello, Attis. I take it you have news to share?”

            “I do, most of it bad.”

            He grimaced. “Ceres has fallen?”

            “Yes. It’s worse than you can imagine, Eolus. It’s worse than _I_ imagined, and I knew something of the Vord before this.”

            I felt a hint of his fear through the watersending. “It’s that bad?”

            “It is,” I replied softly. “There are hundreds of thousands of Vord coming for us, and that’s not even the worst of it. There are also different types of Vord, specially designed by the Queen for fighting Alerans. These include flying Vord modeled after Knights Aeris. They nearly routed us at Ceres until I took a group of fliers up to hold them back and Gaius called up rain to ground them.”

            Eolus’s mouth fell open in horror. “So this… Queen of theirs can create any kind of Vord she desires?”

            “Yes.”

            He gave a heavy sigh. “Well, since you’re alive and speaking to me I’m guessing you managed to retreat successfully.”

            “We did, but the Vord set traps for us along the way and any organization we had disappeared. We just arrived in Alera Imperia earlier today. Gaius means to make a proper stand against the Vord here.”

            “That should count for something, at least. Nothing of note has happened here since you left. I’ve been continuing to prepare the city for a siege according to your instructions. Your warning about the Vord has been sent to every town and steadholt in the province,” Eolus informed me.

            I breathed a small sigh of relief. “Good. If Alera Imperia falls, there’s a very good chance the Queen will come for us next.” It was a very frightening thought, though something I had to seriously consider. Aquitaine was nearly due east from Alera Imperia. If the capital fell, it was a logical choice for a retreat. And given what happened at Ceres, the fall of Alera Imperia was a very real possibility. “If that happens, I’ll try my best to alert you as soon as possible.”

            “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Best of luck to you, Attis.”

            “Thank you, Eolus. I’m going to need it.”

            Our conversation over, I sank back into my chair and allowed myself a few moments to process everything that had happened. The Vord were even more dangerous than we’d previously thought and the Queen had shown herself to be capable of long-term planning. She’d been a few steps ahead of us during the retreat. The only advantage we had was that in retreating so quickly we forced the Vord to pursue us ahead of their food supply. I didn’t know exactly how long it took the _croach_ to spread, but it couldn’t possibly spread faster than we could march.

            I tried to take comfort that we’d reached Alera Imperia with the bulk of our forces intact, but soon found I couldn’t. Yes, we’d reached a place of refuge, but I had doubts about how long that refuge would last. As I said to Eolus, it was very likely Aquitaine would be the Queen’s next target should Alera Imperia fall. That cut right to the heart of my deepest fears. It was my duty to protect Alera as a High Lord and Citizen, particularly my own city. I had sworn to do so when I became High Lord. Yet here I was in the capital and not at home. I shook my head, forcing my fears away. Worrying about what might happen to Aquitaine was not productive right now. We were on the precipice of what would likely be the great battle of our time, if anyone would be left to remember, and I needed to be focused and clear-headed. That didn’t mean, however, that a bit of wine wouldn’t do to calm my nerves. I’d just started down to the wine cellar when a courier arrived with a summons from Gaius: I was needed at the Citadel for a war meeting. Wine would have to wait until later.

            This time the meeting was in the Citadel’s war room rather than Gaius’s study. Two large sand tables had been set up in the center of the room, one depicting the Realm and the other Alera Imperia in fine detail. Chairs had been set up around the tables and several High Lords were already seated. Gaius was there as well, along with Captain Miles of the Crown Legion. I’d known him for years, though he’d only tangentially been part of our circle at the Academy. We mostly tolerated him because he was Araris’s little brother. That being said, he was also a capable captain.

            Once all the High Lords were present, Gaius began the meeting. He went over the city’s defenses in detail, beginning with improvements made to the walls. Alera Imperia was a city of levels, each designed to frustrate and repel invaders. However, the defenses had been created with a conventional foe in mind and the Vord were anything but. I’d come to believe based on what I’d seen of them thus far that they would require unconventional tactics to be defeated. “Before we proceed with further defense preparations, our first order of business must be evacuating the civilian population of the city. That includes those newly-arrived from Ceres and the surrounding lands,” Gaius concluded.

            “And send them where?” Attica asked. “We’ve just seen the countryside won’t be safe.”

            “We’d be happy to accept them in Placida,” Sandos offered.

            “Your offer is appreciated, Your Grace, but Placida is close to Vord territory. Getting the refugees there may pose a challenge as well, depending on how the Vord converge on Alera Imperia,” Gaius retorted. “We could certainly send some refugees to Placida, but they’ll need to be on guard for any Vord attacks.”

            “Aquitaine would be happy to take in refugees,” I said. They would put an additional strain on the city’s resources in the event of a siege, but what else could be done?

            “Riva will take some as well,” Riva chimed in.

            “Both cities would suit, and perhaps Phrygia would also be willing,” said Gaius.

            “Sire, the Crown Legion has already begun evacuating the first level, as you instructed,” Miles informed us.

            “Very good, captain. We’ll have to hope they’ll have enough of a head start on the Vord to reach the cities safely,” Gaius replied.

            “The hills are another possibility,” I interjected. “Groups of refugees could hide in the hills north of the city if necessary. They’re sparsely populated and not likely to draw the Queen’s attention when there are still cities to be taken. They’re not on the way to anything either. A decent place to hide, for a little while at least.”

            Gaius regarded me for a moment, lips pursed in thought, then nodded. The discussion then moved on to what needed to be done once the civilians, or at least most of them, were evacuated. Gaius meant to seal off the streets as a way of denying the Vord a direct route to the Citadel. They would have to climb over the walls and buildings between the levels. Either option would slow them down. “If the Vord breach the walls, I mean to make them pay dearly for every forward step they take,” Gaius stated, steely determination in his voice.

            “How do you intend to counter the vordknights? We can’t risk a repeat of what happened at Ceres and on the retreat,” asked Cereus.

            “I intend to keep Knights Aeris on reserve to deal with them, but I suspect the Queen won’t utilize them in the same way twice, not now that she knows I can neutralize them,” Gaius replied. “Legions will be stationed on every level of the city, ready to engage should the Vord reach their positions.”

            His decision was a sensible one, but it was too defensive for my liking. I heartily disliked the idea of waiting on a wall for the Vord to come to me. “Sire, an argument could be made for leaving a handful of Legions positioned outside the walls. A mobile force could respond quickly to the Vord’s movements and attack their flank or rear as needed.”

            To my surprise, Gaius gave a small nod. “Your suggestion has merit. For now, we ought to turn our attention back to the evacuations…”

 

**

            The next few days followed a very similar pattern of command meetings and defensive preparations. The evacuations got fully underway quickly, with the Civic Legion ensuring they were done in an orderly fashion. There was something altogether eerie about it, seeing a large train of refugees departing the city every day. The city itself soon felt more like the deserted ruins of Appia than the bustling capital city I’d known my whole life. Septimus and I had explored a good portion of the city together, often sneaking out to spend time enjoying its many taverns. This emptiness was unnatural and it only added to my growing apprehension of what was to come. 

            In keeping with the evacuation orders, I dismissed the entire staff of my manor save for Flavius. They were to make for Aquitaine and join the rest of my staff at the palace. This didn’t help in the least with my feelings regarding the city’s emptiness, but it was necessary. In truth the manor had always felt empty to me since the deaths of my parents. Most of the rest of the family visited it only rarely, making Invidia and I the most frequent visitors. The smaller household, in both physical size and staff made it harder to avoid Invidia the way I generally did at home. Neither of us liked spending more time together than necessary.

            I returned late from the Citadel one evening after we’d been in Alera Imperia for perhaps a week and found an unexpected visitor waiting in the receiving room. She had the appearance of a woman past middle-age, with hair more grey than brown, but that swiftly melted away the moment she saw me. “Attis,” breathed Gaius Caria, First Lady of Alera.

            “Caria. What are you doing here?” I inquired, keeping my voice low.

            “I need you tonight,” she answered. “I’m more frightened than I’ve ever been in my life and I don’t want to be alone.”

            Her fear was apparent through my shields, which I’d kept stronger than usual to blot out the fear and apprehension that hung over Alera Imperia like a fog. Caria practically radiated fear, the kind of blind terror that came from the knowledge that danger was coming but not knowing much about that danger. I doubted Gaius was filling her in on every detail of the Vord and the war so far. I crossed the distance between us and pulled her into my arms. “You’re hardly the only one terrified of what is coming for us. The Vord are every bit as terrifying as you’ve heard. I’m afraid I can’t offer you any words of comfort, only that Gaius planned to make a stand here, where his power is strongest, quite intentionally.”

            “He hasn’t told me anything at all. In fact, he’s barely spoken to me since he returned.” Gaius had extremely pressing matters to attend to. Still, he could’ve spared a moment for his wife. “Please, Attis,” she whispered, in a tone as close to begging as the normally proud Caria could manage. I raised a hand to stroke her hair gently.

            “I may not be able to offer you words of comfort,” I said, voice soft, “but I can make you forget about the Vord for a while. Shall we?”

            We’d done this many times—most of my trysts with Caria took place in my manor and I daresay she knew the way to my bedchamber blindfolded. It was located on the top floor and had an excellent view of the city and surrounding area. Though not as large as my bedchamber at home, it was still spacious and just as well-furnished. The walls were a pale blue, embellished here and there with frescoes of falcons and other birds in flight. We’d hardly made it to the bed before Caria wrapped her arms around me and kissed me hard. Her hands migrated down to my waist and began unbuckling my belt.

            “You’re quite eager,” I observed after she broke off our kiss to pull my shirt over my head.

            “I told you I need you tonight.” She kissed me again, and her lips were scarcely on mine before her tongue slid past to brush against my own. This time it was my hands which moved to undo the laces of her dress. It was considerably plainer than what she normally wore, a necessity in order to maintain her disguise. My fingers glided gently over her smooth skin as I slid the dress down. As Caria deepened the kiss, her hands trailed down my back to rest at the waistband of my pants. A moment later she yanked them down past my hips. I felt myself growing increasingly aroused at her touch. I broke off the kiss, then slid my pants the rest of the way off and kicked them aside. Caria did the same, stepping out of her dress before reclining on the bed. I took a moment to take in the sight of her before joining her on the bed.

            I moved atop her and kissed her again briefly before migrating from her lips to her neck. It was always a temptation to leave love bites on her neck but I resisted the urge. Instead I trailed kisses down to her breasts where I took my time, teasing each nipple until she moaned with pleasure. From there I kissed the length of her belly before pausing between her legs. She spread them further apart and I began to pleasure her with my mouth.

            Caria’s moans grew louder as I ran my tongue over her most sensitive places, slowly, taking time to savor the taste of her. The first time I bedded her was the first time anyone had done this for her, she told me. That was tragic and I’d taken it upon myself to use every bit of skill I possessed to pleasure her thoroughly. It had worked—the first time had left her fully satisfied and raving about my skills as a lover when we were done. It didn’t take me long to have her dripping wet this time.

            My own arousal was impossible to ignore. Sitting up, I moved atop Caria and kissed her neck once more as I slid inside her. Her back arched in pleasure, pressing her full breasts against my chest as she wrapped her legs tightly around my waist. This time I let out a moan as I savored the feeling of being fully sheathed in her. One hand gripped her firm thigh while the other buried itself in her dark hair and pulled. Caria cried out at that and responded by scratching her nails down my back.

            Caria’s moans grew louder and louder, building to her climax. To that end, I let go of her hair and slid a hand between her legs. A moment later she came with a shout and I followed shortly after. Satisfied, I moved off of her and lay back on the pillows. “Feeling better, my dear?”

            She gave a little contented sigh. “Yes, thank you.”

            “Always a pleasure to serve you, First Lady,” I replied, grinning. It was true. My affair with Caria was politically motivated, yes, with the objective of having someone close to Gaius who could act against him. That had worked all too well. But aside from the politics, I did enjoy our liaisons. She was pleasant company in bed and had swiftly developed something of an infatuation with me. I learned long ago that there were plenty of women among the Citizenry who found their husbands’ embraces thoroughly unsatisfying. From the moment I reached a certain age, I might as well have had a target on my back considering how much attention I received from them. Bedding Caria also had the additional benefit of cuckholding Gaius, which was quite satisfying.

            We remained where we were for several minutes, resting. Caria slowly lifted herself from the pillows and for a moment I thought she was about to leave before she said, “The night is young yet.”

            “Very true. We have plenty of time for more, if that’s what you want.”

            “It is.”

            I rested a hand on my hip and gave it a pat. “Then hop on.”

            She didn’t need to be told twice.

            Caria rode me hard this time, sitting astride my hips. I quite enjoyed the sight of her atop me. As I climaxed for the second time that night, I realized I needed this as much as Caria did. It wasn’t that I hadn’t bedded anyone since Ceres—I had managed to find myself some company during the quieter nights on the retreat—but rather that a bit of vigorous lovemaking was a great way to relieve stress and tension.

            “Stay the rest of the night. This is not a time for anyone to sleep alone,” I proposed once we were done and Caria lay next to me.

            “That was my intention. I was hoping you’d ask.” She’d never stayed the night with me before, for obvious reasons. There weren’t exactly many occasions when both Caria and I were in Alera Imperia without Gaius also there, and she was not about to travel to Aquitaine alone. No, we’d taken care to be very discreet. She assured me Gaius had absolutely no idea about what we were doing and I hadn’t seen anything to convince me otherwise.

            “If Gaius has hardly noticed you since he arrived, I doubt he’ll notice your absence now,” I remarked. “You can slip back in tomorrow without anyone the wiser.”

            Caria nodded. “I told my maidservant I was visiting a friend in the city. It was believable enough, with so many Citizens here.”

            “I suppose you are visiting a friend, in a manner of speaking,” I said with a grin.

            “And it’s very fortunate you were here alone,” Caria replied. “Where is Invidia anyway?”

            “I haven’t the faintest, honestly. Invidia’s been missing since Kalarus’s Rebellion ended. Quite unlike her really.”

            “Well if she’s dead, that’s one obstacle out of our way,” said Caria as she moved closer to me.

            _Now if only the Vord would just disappear,_ I thought but chose not to say. “Indeed.”

            She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a kiss once more.


	10. The Plan

            Caria left early the next morning. She didn’t want to leave, as was evident by how tightly she clung to me before assuming her disguise and stepping out the door. To be perfectly honest, I was sorry to see her go. Our time together had helped me release some of the stress I harbored and let me think about something other than the Vord for a time. I’d needed it just as much as she had. In my bedchamber it was all too easy to imagine this was just another tryst with Caria like so many others we’d enjoyed over the years. But that spell was broken now, and it was time to return to reality.

            The Vord would be here soon.

            Once the doors closed behind Caria, I sighed and made my way to the kitchens for some breakfast. This was something of a challenge, since I’d sent all of my staff save Flavius to the relative safety of Aquitaine. I’d hardly noticed my cooks’ absence over the last day since I’d spent most of my time in the Citadel and thus took my meals there. Now I was on my own. My experience of cooking was limited to game and other provisions, cooked over a camp fire while traveling with Septimus, and the standard cooking lessons every academ got as part of firecrafting basics. That being said, I did manage to toast some bread and cook myself some bacon without burning either, which I considered a success. I’d only just finished eating when a courier arrived to inform me that my presence was requested at the Citadel.

            At least I wouldn’t have to cook my own dinner.

 

**

            Our planning had now moved into the final stages when we heard the latest intelligence reports: the Vord would reach the city in a day’s time at most. As at Ceres, there was a certain amount of relief in that. I preferred facing the Vord directly instead of waiting for days in an eerily empty city which had begun to feel more like a tomb. The pace of the evacuations increased in the hope that the last remaining refugees would make it out of the city before the Vord arrived. A handful of stubborn folks refused to leave, despite all attempts to persuade them to go. These were thankfully the exception rather than the rule.

            Since the day we arrived in the city, Legion engineers were hard at work crafting the buildings lining the streets between the levels of Alera Imperia into walls. The city had become a giant maze, with no direct path leading from the outer wall to the Citadel. Should the wall be breached, the Vord would not have an easy time getting there. Legions would be stationed at every level, ready to engage the Vord at need. The Citizens would take up positions on the outer wall where they would begin the attack once the Vord were in range.

            There was no question we were in a better position than we were at Ceres, but would it be enough?

            It had to be.

            We gathered for a command meeting, likely our last one before the Vord arrived. It was a full command meeting, with every High Lord and Legion captain in the city present. We stood on the balcony outside Gaius’s command center. It offered an excellent view of the city. “The final preparations are now being made for the battle to come,” Gaius began. “Our plan for the defense of the city will rely on placing Legions both inside and outside the city walls. Lord Aquitaine, if you would.”

            I stepped forward and picked up where he left off. “Legions will be placed on every tier of the city to drive the Vord back should they breach the walls. The walls themselves will have the largest amount of defenders, consisting of Legions and most of the Citizens.” I then took time to inform the captains of where their Legions would be stationed. “And Third Rivan will also be on the first tier,” I concluded, nodding to the city gates far below us, “First and Third Aquitaine, Second and Third Placidan, and the Crown Legion are camped on the north side of the city, outside the walls.” I’d finally managed to convince Gaius of the wisdom of keeping a force of several Legions outside the walls.

            “I cannot argee with this measure. We may not be able to open and close sally ports to get your men back inside when the Vord arrive,” the senior captain of the Rhodesian Legions argued.

            “It’s the right move,” Miles retorted. “A mobile force can exploit any opening they leave us as they approach the city. They could inflict more damage than months of fighting from defensive positions.”

            I had nothing to add to that, so I merely fixed the captain with a level stare. “Of course,” he conceded, averting his gaze.

            I nodded briefly and continued my speech as if the interruption hadn’t occurred. “Further reinforcements from Forcia, Parcia, and Rhodes are unlikely at best, though they may be able to strike into the enemy’s flanks in the Vale.” Having finished my speech, I stepped back and let Gaius resume addressing the meeting.

            He cleared this throat once, then began to speak. “What is the status of the civilian evacuation?”

            “The last of them are leaving now, sire. All who were willing to leave, at any rate. The Senatorial party offered their personal armsmen as a security force,” said Sir Ehren.

            “I’m sure. The southern refugees?”

            “We made sure those who were worst off were given space on wagons, sire. We also gave them all the food they could carry,” Ehren replied.

            Gaius nodded. “And the food stores?”

            “We’ve enough to feed the Legions for sixteen weeks at normal rations,” Miles replied. “Twenty four if we immediately begin cutting them.”

            No one made any response. I’d wager we were all thinking the same thing—none of us could be sure we had sixteen weeks. We had prepared for a siege, yes, but it was all but certain the Queen would come at us with everything she had. Our leadership was here. The Queen knew she had to dispose of us in order to win this war, and nearly all of us were conveniently gathered in one place. There would be surprises as there were at Ceres and we would need to prepare for them as best we could. This time, we would have some surprises of our own for the Vord.

            After the meeting was dismissed I left the Citadel to join my Legions. As I flew, I found it harder to ignore the massive flock of crows circling over the city as if in anticipation of the battle to come. The sight was not a natural one and it made me feel uneasy. The Romans put stock in such things, if the old texts were to be believed. They would’ve surely considered the crows a bad omen. Such old superstitions were usually mocked and dismissed, but I couldn’t help but wonder, looking at the crows, if there was some merit to them.

            The sight of my standard and those of my Legions helped to banish that unease from my  mind. I would be staying with my Legions for the duration, since I was needed here to command in person. It was a bit of a relief to leave the manor house, truth be told, and not just because I no longer had to cook my own meals. The emptiness of the city was beginning to get to me. Spending my time in a Legion camp surrounded by people was a relief. My command tent had already been set up in the center of the First Aquitaine’s camp and Flavius made sure my necessary personal belongings had already been brought from the manor.

            A sand table depicting Alera Imperia and its immediate surroundings in detail stood in the center of my command tent. Our position was clearly marked. Here on the northern side of the city, we would be spared the brunt of the first Vord attack, which gave me more time to prepare and plan. I was quite pleased that Gaius accepted my suggestion this time and saw the sense in having a mobile force to attack the Vord outside the city. I wanted to take the fight to them, not wait for them to come to me. Both of my Legions were directly under my command, of course, and they were joined by Second and Third Placidan and the Crown Legion. Naturally this meant Placida was with us as well. Of all the High Lords present in Alera Imperia, he’d have been my first pick to have under my direct command. He and Miles were both capable commanders and fighters, skills which would be sorely needed in the battle to come.

            If this battle were to be our end, we would go down fighting to our last breaths.

            It was evening when I called a command meeting to discuss my plans for our attack on the Vord. This meeting was considerably smaller than the previous one, consisting entirely of myself, Placida, and the five Legion captains. There were no other Citizens there, as they were all stationed on the city walls. I stood beside the sand table; the others seated themselves on the camp stools set up around it. “Gentlemen, I’m sure you are all as sick of these meetings as I am, but I assure you I did not call you here without reason,” I began, positioning myself on the side of the sand table showing our encampment. “I’ve a plan I’d like to share with you all. It’ll take a bit of doing for sure, but if executed well we can do some serious damage to the Vord.”

            They leaned forward, interest peaked. “Our task here is to go on the offensive against the Vord, to strike at their rear or flanks as opportunities present themselves. We are in a perfect position to strike, positioned as we are on the northern side of the city. Alera Imperia is large enough that it will take the Vord some time to encircle it completely and if the Queen uses the same tactic she used at Ceres, she won’t bother with encircling the city at all. That will give us some time.

            “We will have ample opportunity to attack the Vord once they have engaged the city’s defenders. And we have one advantage available to us that the Vord do not—the river.” I gestured to the river where it ran directly east of our camps. “When  we attack the Vord, I propose we divert the river in order to cut them off from the rest of the horde.”

            They blinked slowly, digesting my proposal. It wasn’t unheard of—Aquitainus Aemilius had diverted a river during a pivotal battle against the Children of the Sun. In that case it was for the purpose of muddying the battlefield to keep the enemy from advancing. This would be different, more complicated, but it was high time that we tried some unconventional tactics.

            Vitellus was the first to speak. “You think something like that could work?”

            “Yes,” I said simply. “It won’t be one simple bit of crafting, but it can be done.”

            “How do you intend to keep the water from just spreading out over the battlefield and turning it into a field of mud?” asked Tiberius.

            “The point is to use the river to cut off the Vord, not turn the battlefield into a muddy mess. There will need to be earthcrafting done in conjunction with the watercrafting in order to create a new trench for the water to flow into. The diverted river, in addition to dividing the Vord, will also secure our flank.” What Aemilius did was simpler, but I was confident our engineers would be up to the task.

            “This would be quite a feat if we were able to pull it off,” Placida offered. “The more Vord we can keep occupied, the less to attack the walls.”

            “Precisely,” I replied. “Miles, your thoughts?”

            “It’s a bold move, and a risky one if it doesn’t work,” he said, “but right now things are desperate enough that we could use some boldness.”

            “I’m glad we see eye-to-eye on this,” I remarked. That had been a rare occurrence when Miles and I fought together during Kalarus’s Rebellion. “Now that we’re all in agreement, I should tell you that we’ll be marching underwater in order to take the Vord by surprise.”

            Some eyebrows rose and mouths fell open. “How do you mean to accomplish that?” asked one of the Placidan captains.

            “Watercrafting to create a bubble around us, windcrafting to keep the air fresh, earthcrafting to make the riverbed firm enough to march on,” I answered. “We’ll march underwater until we reach the Vord lines, then divert the river and charge them.”

            They all looked a bit skeptical, but no one raised any objections. When the command meeting came to a close, I wasted no time and immediately summoned the engineers of all five Legions. A few of them looked a bit overwhelmed as I explained my plan, but overall they were up to the challenge. They would be critical when it came to the logistics of the entire operation. They would spend the time we had until the Vord attacked practicing moving water and creating a trench simultaneously. When the second meeting ended, I was able to retire for the night feeling more confident than I had in days. This could work. This _would_ work. Along with what Gaius had planned in the city, we had a real chance. This would not be another Ceres.

            And if I turned out to be wrong, well, I’d deal with that later. If there was a later.

            I woke the next morning at a horrendously early hour, an unfortunate necessity, to learn that the Vord had been sighted and would reach the city in a few hours. The news didn’t come as a shock considering what we’d known of the Vord advance previously. Since we weren’t on the front lines at the moment, I opted to continue with my plans as if the Vord hadn’t just been sighted. The Legions were informed and instructed to be ready to form up at a moment’s notice should we come under attack before my plan could be carried out. To that end, I had the engineers of each Legion organize the Knights Aeris, Terra, and Aqua we would need. As long as the Vord were unable to encircle the entire city, time would be on our side.

            I took my time eating my breakfast. There wasn’t much for us to do at the moment aside from continue our preparations until we either came under attack or received word from Gaius. I considered sending some of my own fliers to keep us apprised of what was happening on the southern side of the city, then decided against it for the time being. Gaius would send couriers to keep us informed, a necessary part of our overall strategy. After I was done eating, I donned my armor, strapped on my swordbelt, and went off to oversee the preparations.

            It wasn’t long before I was joined by Miles and Placida. Both of them were armored, Placida in lorica similar to but less ornate than my own and Miles in the same standard Legion armor he’d worn during Kalarus’s Rebellion. The _legionares_ rushed about the encampment, arming up and readying themselves for battle.

            “No sign of any vordknights so far,” Placida observed, scanning the skies.

            “A huge relief,” I replied. “If we’re lucky, they won’t be making any appearances. The Queen used them to harass us on the way here and they’ve got to stop and eat sometime. The Vord have already advanced far beyond their main supply of _croach_ , aside from those small patches our scouts found in the countryside. Instead of a repeat of Ceres, she’ll save them for a surgical strike.”

            Placida nodded. “Makes sense. I certainly hope you’re right.”

            “Vordknights or no, we should expect to see Vord forms we’ve not seen before,” said Miles.

            “Certainly. If we’ve had time to prepare, so has she. We’ll need to watch for their captured crafters, provided our intelligence reports are correct about that.” Those reports certainly concerned me—if the Queen had a large number of captured crafters at her disposal, she could send them to undo our work with the river. That’s what I would have done, were I in her position. The three of us continued to look south, searching for any indications that the battle had begun. There were none, hardly surprising considering Alera Imperia was a large city and we were on the opposite side.

            “As soon as we receive word from Gaius regarding the disposition of the enemy, we’ll need to begin moving the Legions into position,” I remarked. “The camps will need to be broken down and the non-combatants moved to a safer, more defensible position in the hills. The Legions will march north as well, but only far enough to give us cover for the attack.”

            If either of them thought this was outlandish, they chose not to say so. The plan was already in motion, in any case.

            Perhaps two hours passed from the initial report before we knew the battle had begun. Trumpet calls rang out across the city, loud enough for us to hear. Though I couldn’t see what was going on, I could imagine it well enough, having gone over the battle plan with Gaius enough times. Citizens would begin the attack by manifesting their earth furies when the Vord came close to the walls. Once the Citizens had exhausted their strength, Knights Ignus would set fire to the many outbuildings which clung to the city walls like barnacles to a ship. As if on cue, clouds of smoke became visible to the south. We hoped the fire would slow the Vord down a bit while the defenders on the wall readied the next attack. I watched closely as the cloud of smoke grew larger and darker until it nearly blotted out the crows still circling over the city. Every wooden structure outside the southern wall was likely burning.

            A courier swooped down from the sky and landed in front of me. He saluted, then spoke. “Your Grace, I have a report from the First Lord.”

            “Excellent. Report.”

            “Gaius gave the order to fire the outbuildings.”

            “Yes, I noticed,” I remarked drily. “Anything else of note?”

            “There’s a new Vord form. They’re giant Vord, shaped like the apes found in the Kalaran jungles. They’re bigger than any other Vord forms we’ve seen so far. Captured crafters in slave collars have also been sighted among the Vord forces.”

            I couldn’t say I was pleased to hear that, though it wasn’t exactly a surprise. “How delightful. How goes the defense?”

            “Holding so far. The Citizens and Knights Ignus were able to slaughter thousands of Vord before they reached the wall and so far the fires are keeping the Vord from advancing. They’ve started to spread out their forces to encircle the city.”

            I nodded. “Well then, it seems it’s time for us to do our part.”


	11. The Battle of Alera Imperia

            The first thing I did after the courier finished his report was dispatch scouts to watch the Vord advance. We didn’t know what their direction of approach would be, so I sent scouts to both sides of the city. Once the Vord were close enough, we would redirect the river to cut them off from the rest of the horde and begin our attack. The Legions formed up and made ready to march. The engineers were out in front of the column, ready to begin the operation as soon as I gave the order.

            The waiting proved to be incredibly tedious once the preparations were made. Time seemed to drag on forever as we waited for the scouts to report back. The first of them returned after midday to inform us that the Vord had ceased their attacks on the wall while the outbuildings continued to burn. Thus far the Queen had not chosen to utilize her captive crafters to put them out. She was in no rush. The Vord continued to advance eastward. That was it, then—we would attack them on the eastern side of the city. Our camp was far enough north of the city that the river was largely free of docks or boats to complicate matters. We would enter the river, then march as far south as necessary before redirecting it to flow around the Vord. The Gaul flowed north to south, so we would be working with the current rather than against it.

            Smoke could still be seen to the south when the sky began to grow dark. I dined on a few of my favorite dried figs, as much of a meal as I was going to get, when my scouts arrived. “Your Grace, the fires have nearly burned down.”

            I nodded. “And the Vord position?”

            “I give it maybe an hour or so until they reach the river.”

            “Then it’s time we prepared to greet them.”

            I gave the order for the camp to be struck immediately and all the Legion non-combatants to head up the causeway and into the hills. We would locate them later after the battle but for now they needed to be away from the front line. The Legions themselves had formed up on the plain in front of the river. The standard bearers stood in front, as always, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the falcon clutching lightning bolts of the First and the three falcons of the Third. It was time I addressed the Legions.

            “Men of Alera,” I began, using my wind furies to ensure every _legionare_ heard me, “the time has come for you to do what you all swore to do when you first became Legion: to defend our fair Realm from those who wish to destroy it.

            “You have seen what these creatures, these _monsters_ , can do. They have slaughtered our people indiscrimately, _legionares_ and civilians both, and they mean to do it again. They will not stop until they have wiped out all non-Vord life in this world. If they are not stopped here, they will come for Aquitaine, they will come for Placida, they will come for every city in this Realm and all we hold dear. Will we allow this?”

            “No!” they chorused.

            “I know you are afraid; I can see it in your eyes. You’d be fools if you weren’t afraid. But now is the time to master your fear, to call upon some last reserve of courage deep inside you. Duty demands that all of us face our fears and do what must be done. Master your fear and set yourselves to the task before us. The fate of the Realm itself may hinge on the outcome of this battle.

            “The First Lord has asked us to go beyond what duty requires. Now I am asking it of you, and know that I would not ask it of you if I did not also ask it of myself. The time has come to do your cities and your families proud.

            “Remember that Alera has faced deadly threats before and every time we have prevailed. So it will be again this time with the Vord reduced to yet another vanquished foe. I know every man here will rise to the occasion, so I ask you now to walk to the river with me and cry, ‘For Aquitaine,’ ‘For Placida,’ and ‘For Alera!’” I unsheathed my sword and held it aloft. “For Alera!”

            “For Alera! For Alera!”

            I sheathed my sword, turned to face the river, and walked to the edge. My _singulares_ were close behind me, along with several engineers and Knights. The bank had been steep  initially, but the engineers had already been at work flattening it enough so we could walk into the river without difficulty. As soon as my feet touched the water, I parted it so as to clear a path for us. I was soon joined by the Knights Aqua and together we pushed the water away from the center of the river, forming a wall of water to either side of us. A few moments later, the Legions formed up behind us.

            The riverbed was large enough for three Legions to march side-by-side in regular formation. The First Aquitaine was with me in the center, while the Crown Legion took the left flank and the Third Aquitaine the right. The Placidan Legions marched behind us, covering our rear. The river was deep enough here for the water to cover us completely and not spill over the banks. I could’ve handled the watercrafting entirely on my own, but there was no reason to do so when there were plently of Knights Aqua on hand to assist. Best to save my strength for when I would really need it: the battle to come.

            As we marched, engineers and Knights Terra firmed up the silt of the riverbed, making it firm enough to march on. Knights Aeris made sure the air in our bubble remained fresh. It was incredibly odd, marching underwater. Every now and then fish would swim by overhead or to the sides, reminding us that we were both underwater but not in fact in the water. It was one thing to do this in a pool or bath; it was quite another to do it in a river with five Legions. I’d created a water bubble around myself in my bath and our pool once my watercrafting was advanced enough. Keeping my water furies focused on maintaining the bubble, I sent my earth furies out to sense the Vord’s position. It was necessary with us being underwater and fully incapable of seeing them. I couldn’t very well send out Knights Aeris from our current position. The sky overhead grew darker as we continued down the river and it was fully night now. Even through the water I could make out the silvery glow of the nearly-full moon above us.

            It did not take my furies long to locate the Vord’s exact position. “There,” I murmured, more to myself than anyone. Then, “They’ve started attacking the walls again. Now!” I shouted, using my wind furies to project my voice. A combination of engineers and Knights joined me in my position. Together we turned eastward. At once, the engineers and Knights Terra hollowed out a new course for the river to follow. At the same time the Knights Aqua redirected the river into its new channel. Working together with perfect coordination, we directed the river straight into the mass of Vord, driving some forward and others back. The redirected river halted its course at the wall. The engineers then turned their attention to the riverbank and quickly smoothed it into a ramp we could charge up easily.

            I unsheathed my sword and ignited it. “Charge!” I shouted, pointing my sword in the direction of the Vord. Five Legions roared defiant battle cries and together we charged out of the trench to meet the nearest Vord. We fell upon them like a scythe cutting down wheat, like a fire devouring a field of dry grass at the height of summer. I plunged my sword straight through the chest of the first Vord to cross my path, then beheaded the next in a single stroke. Around me, my _singulares_ dispatched Vord with ease.

            Atop the wall, the defenders cheered. I daresay our entrance looked rather impressive from their perspective. The sight of us gave them heart and they renewed their own attacks on the Vord. My sword became a red blur as I slew every Vord in my path. Ah, this was it. Killing hundreds upon hundreds of Vord with lightning strikes had been satisfying, yes, but not quite as satisfying as ramming my sword through them. My blood was up now. These monsters had attacked our Realm for no reason and massacred our people without mercy. I would show them no mercy in turn. Instead I took great delight and satisfaction in killing as many of them as I could.

            We drove forward relentlessly, cutting down Vord as if they were made of paper. This was the entire point of my plan—redirecting the river allowed us to divide the Vord forces so we could dispose of them more easily. They weren’t aquatic creatures and therefore couldn’t cross the river on their own. The Queen might send her captured crafters to revert it back to its original course, but I’d deal with that if and when it happened. For now we were cutting the Vord to ribbons. They had little hope of reinforcements from the west—the city was simply too large for them to arrive in time. My _singulares_ and I laid waste to every Vord in our path. With the Aquitainian Legions behind us, we drove forward like a spear. We were deep into the mass of Vord now and some distance away from the empty riverbed. It was then that the behemoths appeared before us.

            So here were the new Vord Gaius’s courier had mentioned. The brief description he gave me didn’t quite do them justice. They were perhaps twelve feet tall and clearly modeled on the apes found in the far south of the Kalaran jungles. They had large, thick arms which they used to propel themselves forward and they were covered in a thick layer of Vord chitin. The Queen had likely designed them to breach walls and other defenses. The other Vord scurried out of the way as the behemoths advanced on us. Two of them made directly for me. The Queen’s direction, most likely. I felt honored to have earned such personal attention from her. My _singulares_ closed ranks, ready to defend me, but I waived them aside and stepped forward to face the behemoths. I smiled. “Finally, a challenge!”

            Before they could advance any further, I flicked my hand at the nearest behemoth and hit it in the face with a tiny fire sphere. No sense in using a full-size fire sphere when a small one would suffice. As the behemoth howled in pain, its companion took a swing at me. I dodged the blow and, calling upon my earth furies for some extra strength, took off its arm and a leg. It crashed down to earth. I stepped around the body and thrust my sword into the chest of the burned behemoth before rejoining my _singulares._ “Hm. Apparently I was mistaken.”

            My dispatching two behemoths without so much as breaking a sweat had the exact effect I’d hoped for—my Legions surged forward, roaring in encouragement and shouting their battle cries. I could just make out a line here and there of the bawdy songs the Aquitainian Legions had made up about me. They fell on the behemoths with renewed ferocity and it wasn’t long before more of them joined those I’d slain. They might’ve been large and covered in a thick layer of chitin, but they were very slow and avoiding their swings was no trouble at all. I was able to kill several more of them in much the same way as I’d killed the first two. Around me, I noticed my Knights Ignus copying my tactic and using small fire spheres to damage the behemoths before moving in for the killing blow.

            If my blood had been up before, it was nothing compared to now. I grinned every time I slew Vord, which was so many times I completely lost count. The frenzy of battle gave me a rush of energy and I felt nothing remotely like exhaustion. There was satisfaction in it, not just in killing large numbers of Vord but in doing what I’d trained for so long to do. I could do this for the rest of the night if I had to. We had by now put a serious dent in the number of Vord attacking Alera Imperia’s eastern walls. The Queen was well aware of it too. Suddenly the mass of Vord parted and taken Alerans appeared before us. They looked much as those that attacked us on the retreat did, their numbers consisting of men, women, and children with the same empty, dead eyes. “No crafting!” I ordered, but I was too late. The _legionares_ reacted as they would to any other enemy and attacked with a barrage of battlecrafting. The taken promptly responded with their own crafting.

            “Crows take it!” I cursed loudly. The First had encountered the taken before—they knew better! In battle, however, instinct can often overcome knowledge. “Swords and spears only!” I shouted to the nearest centurion, who responded with a curt nod before giving the order. I tried my best not to focus on the fallen bodies of _legionares_ who’d succumbed to the takens’ attacks.

            Fighting them was much the same as it had been on the retreat, the main difference being I hadn’t ignited my sword then. It was too risky doing it in front of the taken. This time was another matter, and I was able to end them more quickly than I would have otherwise. The problem was that there was no way we could dispose of the bodies and takers in the middle of battle. The possibility that they would bite some _legionares_ was an all-too-real one. We had to destroy the taken as quickly as possible, before the Queen used the watercrafters among them to direct the river back to its original course. But there were so many taken, at least several thousand, besides all the other Vord…

            Knights Aeris swooped down from above to land in the midst of the taken. They immediately attacked the taken with swords only. Gaius must’ve sent them to our aid after seeing the taken attack us. “Move forward!” I shouted. “Move forward to aid them!” The Legions followed my command, surging forward to cut down the taken between us and the Knights Aeris.

            The Queen chose this moment to unleash the vordknights. They burst from the ground on the other side of the redirected river and made straight for the Knights Aeris. She must’ve stealthily moved them into position along with the rest of the horde once night had fallen. The Knights Aeris were beset on all sides now, unable to use any offensive crafting. Swords were not the most effective weapon for fighting an enemy which swooped down from above.

            I redoubled my own efforts against the taken. We had to reach them…

            The Knights Aeris, however, had other ideas. They took to the skies to better fend off the vordknights. I might’ve breathed a sigh of relief, if not for what happened next. The taken, as one, threw handfuls of salt at the Knights Aeris.

            The effect was immediate. Knights Aeris plummeted from the sky to land in the mass of Vord and taken. As far as I could tell, only a few of them managed to avoid the salt and make it back to the city. The Queen had prepared for this very well indeed. We should’ve expected this. I would expect it in the future, provided there was a future.

            Our advance slowed. It was then that I noticed them, a line of crafters massing on the opposite bank of the river. In the light of the moon, I could make out the glint of collars around their necks. This was what I’d feared. They raised their hands and the river began to writhe. “Back to the river! Now! Sound retreat!” I commanded the nearest centurion. We had to get out of here, and fast. If they were able to redirect the river back to its original course, we’d be cut off, unless they managed to drown us first.

            The Legions turned and made for the dry riverbed. This included myself and my _singulares_ —I had to get myself into a position to command and help move the river back to its initial position and I couldn’t do it from the back while fighting off the Vord. The _legionares_ parted immediately to let us through, then swiftly closed ranks behind us. When I reached the front line, I took a moment to survey the battlefield. Our right flank was for the moment secure against the river, but the left was being menaced by a combination of Vord and taken who’d managed to get between us and the wall. Nothing to be done about that now. We had to get across the river and move it back into place before they did.

            I allowed myself a small sigh of relief when Vitellus appeared beside me. “Our left flank is under heavy assault. They’re pushing harder than they were before.”

            “The Queen means to wipe us out before we can cross the river,” I said with a grimace. “Signal for engineers to report to me.”

            Vitellus nodded and gave the order to the nearest trumpeter. Even on the chaotic battlefield, I was not difficult to find—my standard bearer was close beside me and I held my flaming sword high to make myself more visible. We were nearly at the trench now. We only had to make it a little bit further…

            On my right, the river continued to writhe like a serpent. More watercrafters had joined the others. We were nearly out of time. On my left, the Vord pressed in on us and our line was growing steadily thinner.

            I nearly slipped when my feet hit the edge of the riverbank. Not missing a beat, I charged down the slope and across the dry riverbed. My _singulares_ and Vitellus were right there with me. Reaching the trench seemed to give the _legionares_ a fresh burst of energy and they charged across it as men who knew their lives depended on reaching the other side. It was a different point than our entry point, so the bank hadn’t been leveled to make it easier to ascend. As soon as I neared the opposite bank, I reached out with my earthcrafting and made the bank less steep. A moment later I was on the other side, with the Legions surging up behind me.

            Moving away from the bank, I positioned myself a short distance north. My _singulares_ clustered around me, along with Vitellus, my standard bearers, and those of the First Aquitaine. We were soon joined by the engineers I’d sent for. There were less of them than when we’d started. I extinguished my sword and gestured to the river. “As soon as the Legions are across, we’ll redirect the river back to its original course and close the trench.” The engineers nodded and together we watched the Legions race across the riverbed. The Vord were right behind them. Those which had been pressing our left flank now doubled the pressure as the desperate _legionares_ made for the river. I watched in horror as a group of them were cut off and surrounded by Vord before they reached the trench. More Vord charged into the trench to menace the fleeing Legions.

            Finally, the last stragglers made it across. “Now!” I shouted. Together, the engineers and I ripped the river from the control of the Vord’s crafters and sent it back into the trench. I was almost surprised at how easy it was—no matter if some of their collared crafters were Citizens, they weren’t more powerful than _me_. Once the water was restored, we promptly sealed the new trench we’d created.

            I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. We were hardly out of the woods yet, but it was a start. My impromptu command group was soon joined by Miles and Placida, both looking rather worse for wear. “Well, we made it across,” said Miles. “Further orders?”

            I glanced over at the city. It was impossible to make out what was going on, though battlecrafting could be seen here and there. “We continue the retreat, up the causeway and into the hills. We’ll contact Gaius from there and see what the next move will be.“ Both Miles and Placida simply nodded.

            The Legions immediately formed up and made ready to march. It did not take me long to realize their number had been significantly reduced. The three falcons of the Third Aquitaine were nowhere to be seen. “Vitellus, where is the Third?”

            He made no response other than to look at me. The grief in his blue-grey eyes said it all: the Third had been wiped out.

            My chest felt tighter than it had a moment ago. The Third Aquitaine, my own Legion, my own responsibility, a Legion with a history going back centuries, had fallen, and it had happened on my watch. I closed my eyes for a moment as tears threatened and shook my head. I couldn’t be distracted now. There would be time to mourn later, but at the moment the priority was to get to safety. I gripped the hilt of my sword to help me focus as the remaining Legions continued to form up. One of the Placidan Legions was missing as well.

            We made straight for the causeway. I sent half our remaining engineers in front to turn the muddy road into solid ground fit for marching and the other half behind us to cut the causeway. The cavalry flanked us, aside from a group of outriders I sent on ahead. The causeway gave the weary Legions a boost and it wasn’t long before we reached the Redhill Heights. I glanced back to see masses of Vord swarming over the walls of the city. My heart sank. This was it, then. Alera Imperia had fallen.

            My mind was only beginning to process the loss of the capital when I felt it—a tremor, like an earthquake. It was followed by another, strong enough that it would’ve knocked me off my feet if Vitellus hadn’t managed to catch me. The earth was shaking now in what I was certain was no natural earthquake. Kalare came to mind immediately and I knew in that moment exactly what was happening.

            Gaius was making good on what he’d told me during our first meeting.

            From my vantage point in the hills, I could see a star of scarlet and azure light blazing atop the Citadel’s highest tower—Gaius’s sword. It drew the attention of vordknights and enemy Knights Aeris alike and they clustered so thickly they almost blotted out the light of the sword. The ground rippled like a wave and great fissures opened in the earth near the city, spreading out in every direction. We were far enough into the hills that they didn’t reach us. Then the tremors abruptly stopped.

            A moment later a column of lava shot into the sky, spurting  upward like a fountain. Thousands of great fiery eagles burst from the column and spread outward. Their wings left streaks of fire in their wake until it seemed as if the air itself were burning. The eagles were joined by vast cyclones of flame which burned everything in their path. The ground shook once more. The walls of Alera Imperia, furycrafted walls which had stood for centuries, crumbled as if they were no more than a child’s sand sculpture. I’d seen the destruction of Kalare firsthand, albeit from a greater distance than that which separated me from Alera Imperia now. As awful as that had been, bringing with it the knowledge that the entire population of the city had been wiped out, this was somehow worse.

            I could do nothing but watch in rapt horror as Alera Imperia collapsed into the earth. In what felt like a matter of minutes the capital of the Realm had been reduced to nothing but rubble and ash.

            Thus ended Alera Imperia.

            Thus ended Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera.

            I turned away from the destruction and gave the order to march.


	12. A Timely Reunion

            To say Gaius Sextus and I had our disagreements was putting it mildly. I’d hated and plotted against the man for years. Now, looking upon what was in essence his funeral pyre, I could muster up a modicum of appreciation for what he’d just done. The Vord had been swarming the city when he destroyed it and thus had perished by the hundreds of thousands. I had no idea what exactly had transpired in the city while we were fighting before the walls, but whatever it was the Vord had obviously taken the city. Gaius’s words to me had made it clear that he would only unleash the city’s Great Furies on the Vord if there were no other options. Apparently there had been none.

            He had bought us time. The cost might’ve been immense, but that was a priceless gift.

            Now all we had to do was determine what was to become of the Realm with the capital destroyed and the First Lord dead.

            With some difficulty, I turned my thoughts away from the ruin of Alera Imperia, a city which had always seemed as much a fixture of the Realm to me as Aquitaine, and forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Vord were rapidly advancing up the causeway behind us and it was very likely they would eventually catch us. Gaius hadn’t managed to kill every last one of them, unfortunately. We weren’t out of the danger yet, not by a mile.

            The causeway was wide enough for three Legions to march side-by-side in close formation with the cavalry _alae_ securing our flanks. Those at the back of the line were tasked with fighting off the Vord when they reached us. I gave the order for the centurions to rotate the men at the back to ensure there were at least slightly fresher _legionares_ facing the Vord. No matter what, we had to keep moving.

            Somewhere ahead of us were the groups of refugees who’d left Alera Imperia for the hills. Some of them had set out from the city only a day before. We had to keep the Vord from getting to them. I sent outriders ahead of us to search for the refugees and other stragglers and warn them. It was imperative that we find some safe haven in the hills, either that or somewhere we could trap the Vord and destroy them. I was quite confident of my ability to fight in the hills—I had some experience at this, in Kalarus’s Rebellion and before. A necessary thing to learn, when the northern part of one’s lands is quite mountainous.

            Unfortunately, it was considerably harder to find an ideal spot to make a stand at night. The sky to the south continued to glow red, giving an impression of sunrise but in the wrong direction. It wasn’t long before I lost all sense of time. All I could say was we marched through the night, long past time when everyone would’ve been asleep. Even I, who liked to stay up quite late from time to time, hadn’t stayed up all night with no sleep whatever since my Academy days. That being said, I was not yet feeling the strain of the night’s exertions. My metalcrafting combined with the causeway was enough to fend off exhaustion.

            We were well into the hills when dawn finally came. The sunrise painted the eastern sky a half dozen shades of pink and orange. Looking to the east brought with it thoughts of home, and with them hope. My city was still standing, though Alera Imperia had perished. The Realm might be on its knees, but it was not vanquished. I clung to that hope fiercely as we continued our retreat. Progress had slowed—the combination of _legionares_ growing increasingly weary and the muddy causeway made that inevitable. The engineers were doing the best they could to firm up the ground for marching, but they had been taxed by moving the river and there were less of them than we’d started with. Behind us, the sky was filled with thick clouds of smoke which didn’t quite manage to obscure the sullen red glow that marked where Alera Imperia had only yesterday stood. The smoke darkened the sky enough that morning seemed less bright. Still, the sun had risen in the east and we marched on.

            I sent Knights Aeris to scout ahead and guard against any vordknight attacks. The pursuing Vord had not yet caught up to us. I did not allow myself the luxury of hoping we might manage to outrun them somehow. No, we would have to face them and find a way to use the hilly terrain to our advantage. Daylight had yet to reveal a strong defensive position we could take and hold against the Vord.

            Riders came down the causeway toward us, the same outriders I’d sent ahead hours ago. They came to a halt in front of me and reported their findings. “The last of the refugees are about an hour’s march ahead, Your Grace.”

            “How many refugees?” I inquired.

            “I couldn’t get an exact count, but there’re thousands of them.”

            I sighed. “That’s hardly ideal, given the circumstances. A small group of refugees is one thing; thousands of them are another matter altogether.”

            “There’s not much chance of them moving faster than their current pace,” the outrider elaborated. “They’re dealing with the same mud as us, only they don’t have engineers.”

            “Then we will inevitably run into them and have to move at their pace. Do they know we’re coming?”

            “We told the folk we met bringing up their rear. We said the Legions were coming, with the Vord behind them.”

            I nodded. “Well, that settles it. We need to do all we can to stop the Vord from reaching the refugees.” I looked at Vitellus, whose blue-grey eyes took on a steely glint as he nodded. It was the duty of every Legion to protect the people of Alera. As a Citizen and High Lord, it was my duty especially. The odds were certainly against us, but I was determined to do my duty to the Realm, even if it was the last thing I did. Going down fighting wasn’t such a bad way to go, when it came down to it. I would make sure it was worthy of remembrance, if there was anyone left to remember.

            That being said, I certainly did not intend to die here. There had to be some other way, something I could do to destroy the Vord. Nothing came to me as we continued down the causeway. I was not at all weary, so it wasn’t due to going a whole day without sleep, rather my mind was in fact still reeling from the destruction of Alera Imperia. I suspect we all were.

            It was approaching midday when several Knights Aeris came to me with reports. “Your Grace!” exclaimed the Knight who landed in front of me. He paused a moment to catch his breath. “We’ve spotted a force of at least three Aleran Legions on a ridge about a mile down the causeway from here.”

            My heart leapt as I dared to hope. “What banners were they flying?”

            “Blue and white banners, my lord.”

            I knew those colors. “Raucus!” I shouted, not bothering to conceal my elation. He was here. My old friend was here, and he’d brought the Antillan Legions with him. It took me a moment to realize everyone was staring at me, clearly surprised by my outburst. “High Lord Antillus brought the Antillan Legions down from the wall. We’ve just got ourselves some reinforcements. Where is Lord Antillus’s position?”

            “There, Your Grace.” The Knight pointed to a ridge just to the north of our position, overlooking the causeway. With a quick sightcrafting, I could make out the Antillan banners flying in the breeze.

            “The plan?” Vitellus asked.

            “We keep marching down the causeway until we near Antillus’s position. We need to tempt the Vord into concentrating, gather them all in one place so High Lord Antillus can swoop down and crush them, like the hammer to our anvil.”

            Vitellus nodded as a courier ran up to us. “Your Grace, the Vord are attacking our rear!”

            I grinned. “Excellent. We will turn to face them, then we retreat as cavalry _alae_ charge in to cover us.” The nearest centurion gave the signal to turn and fight and the trumpets sounded the call. I turned to the Knights Aeris. “Please inform Lord Placida and Captain Miles of my plan and that reinforcements have arrived. And keep the vordknights off us.” They saluted and took to the air. The refugees were perhaps one hundred yards ahead of us now, trying their best to make their desperate escape.

            The First Aquitaine turned to face the Vord. At once the ranks parted and I took up position in the center of the Legion, my _singulares_ , standard bearers, and Vitellus clustered tightly around me. My own standards and those of the First had survived the battle and retreat intact, and the sight of them lifted my spirits. Ahead, I could see the Vord massing for the attack. I didn’t notice any taken, which was a relief, but I did see all the Vord forms we’d encountered thus far: warriors, lizard Vord, and behemoths. Cold fury filled me at the sight of them. These monsters had brought our Realm to its knees. They had wiped out one of my own Legions, and I wanted revenge. I smiled, unsheathed my sword, and pointed it at the Vord. “Attack,” I said, only raising my voice enough that the closest centurions could hear me.

            The trumpets rang out, and the First Aquitaine advanced. We drove into the Vord like a spear and halted them in their tracks, giving the desperate refugees a chance to flee. I watched from my center position as _legionares_ felled countless Vord. They copied my technique for killing behemoths and used smaller fire spheres to wound them, then swords to bring them down. One, hit in the face with a fire sphere, crushed several lizard Vord in a blind rampage before crashing into another behemoth. I held my sword high and ignited it, putting courage into the firecrafting. The Legion roared in response and redoubled its efforts. The causeway was soon littered with the bodies of dead Vord. Shouts of “For Alera!” and “For Aquitaine!” rang out clearly. I could even make out lines here and there of traditional Aquitainian marching songs: _We’ll keep the red and black flying here._ The fight gave the weary _legionares_ new life—the First Aquitaine surely wanted revenge for the loss of the Third as much as I did.

            But there was more to be done here than simply killing Vord. “Sound the retreat,” I ordered, then, “Cavalry charge.” The _legionares_ turned at once to resume the march as the cavalry of all three Legions swooped down on the Vord to cover our retreat.

            We moved further down the causeway, every step bringing us closer to Raucus’s position. The cavalry rejoined us once we had a sufficient lead. It wouldn’t last long, but that was no matter. All we needed to do was tempt the Vord into massing themselves in one place so Raucus could come in and crush them.

            “Should we have sent a Knight Aeris to Lord Antillus to tell him our plan?” Vitellus pondered.

            “Unnecessary. He’s got to be watching us closely from his position and there’s no way Raucus won’t discern my plan.”

            Vitellus eyed me for a moment before recognition dawned on his face. “Ah, right, you were good friends with him once, weren’t you?”

            “Yes, I was. In another lifetime.” No doubt the years had changed Raucus—they had certainly changed me—but he’d always been a great strategist. He would catch on to what I was doing and plan his attack accordingly.

            It wasn’t long until we had to turn and face the Vord again. The _legionares_ fell upon them with the same ferocity as the first time, but there were more Vord now, a sign my strategy was working. They were taking the bait and their attacks showed a greater level of coordination. The latter was proof the Queen was indeed alive and controlling them. To either side of us, the Crown Legion and Second Placidan fought the Vord fiercely. Again I waited until we’d done some serious damage, then ordered the cavalry charge and retreat.

            We made it another three hundred yards down the causeway before the Vord caught up with us and we had to turn yet again. The lines of Vord continued to thicken. “Excellent. Once more after this should be enough. Hopefully Raucus will see it.” He had to make his move soon, as we had to leave behind too many fallen _legionares_ each time we retreated. And we made it less far before we had to stop and face the Vord again.

            When we faced the Vord for the fourth time, I ignited my sword once more and poured a second dose of courage into it. They needed it for this final push. We were just past the ridge where the Antillan Legions waited, in the perfect position for them to fall upon the Vord’s rear. _Come on, Raucus. Now’s the time…_

            It was then that the Antillan Legions charged down the slope to meet the Vord. The sun glinted off their armor, making them into a river of steel as they fell on the Vord with the force of an avalanche. I couldn’t help but join in as all around me the Legions roared in jubilation. The sight of our rescuers, combined with my firecrafting, gave them the extra boost they needed for the final push. The First Aquitaine threw itself into the Vord one last time and tore them to shreds. Holding my sword aloft and pointed at the Vord, I took my place on the front line with my _singulares_ , standard bearers, and Vitellus clustered closely around me. I made for the nearest behemoth and struck off an arm before slashing it across its midsection. Another I hit with a small fire blast before plunging my sword through a gap in its chitin armor. The chitin was thick, but not thick enough that the best furycrafted steel combined with a burst of earthcrafted strength couldn’t penetrate the weaker points.

            Ahead of us, the blue and white banners of Antillus grew closer by the minute. I could just make out the flickering ice blue blade of Raucus’s sword. The sight was a heartening one. “For Alera and Aquitaine!” I cried. This time, I joined in with the _legionares_ as they sang the same familiar marching song. “We’ll keep the red and black flying here!”

            The mass of Vord before us grew thinner and thinner as my Legions and Raucus’s crushed them between us. He was at the front of the line, leading his cavalry as they thundered into the Vord. Raucus wasn’t exactly one to lead from the back. If there were any doubts regarding the skill of the Antillan Legions, they dispelled them by thoroughly laying waste to the Vord. The battle was over shortly after it began.

            The causeway was carpeted with dead bodies, mostly Vord though _legionares_ could be seen here and there. We did our best to recover the bodies of our dead before setting fire to the dead Vord. The smell of burning Vord was quite disgusting, but it was very satisfying to watch them burn away to ash. When a path was cleared, I stepped forward to greet Raucus. He dismounted as soon as he caught sight of me and all but rushed over.

            “Raucus, you make a timely entrance,” I remarked casually.

            “Looked like you needed some help.”

            “We did, and I thank you for it.” I extended a hand; he clasped it. Then, to my surprise, he pulled me into an embrace, albeit an awkward one with both of us in armor. When he released me, I took a moment to study him. His craggy features were the same as I remembered, aside from showing twenty-odd years of cares. The beard was a new addition. Raucus was not one to care much about appearances. I’d no doubt he could use his watercrafting to maintain his youth if he chose—he just didn’t bother with it. I had a few inches on him, though Raucus was not a small man. Where he was stocky and solidly-built, I was slender.

            “Glad I found you in one piece, Attis,” he said, looking me over as I did the same to him.

            “I’m glad to be in one piece,” I replied. “We’ve had quite a time of it over the last day.”

            “I can imagine.” He glanced south, where Alera Imperia still smouldered. “Bloody crows, what happened there?”

            “Take me back to your camp and I’ll tell you all about it.”

 

**

            Raucus’s Legions had made camp in a broad valley not far from the causeway. A good number of refugees had sheltered there as well and it didn’t take long for us to locate the non-combatants I’d sent away before the battle. I had the unenviable task of informing those who’d been part of the Third that the Legion hadn’t survived the battle. The devastated looks on their faces opened the wound inside me that was the loss of the Third and I had to call on my metalcrafting to regain my focus. Once the First was situated and making camp, I headed to Raucus’s tent.

            His tent was located among the First Antillan. Not only had he brought all three Antillan Legions, he’d also brought three additional Legions of veterans and every Citizen in Antillus. It was more than I’d dared hope for. Raucus was seated on a camp stool when I entered and he gestured for me to take a seat on a stool opposite his.

            Neither of us spoke for a moment, the weight of the years since Septimus’s death lying between us. Then Raucus broke the silence. “It’s been a long time, Attis.”

            There was no note of accusation in his voice, though it would’ve been justified had there been. I’d been the one to cut him off after Septimus’s death, after all. “Yes,” I said simply. “Who would’ve thought that the near destruction of the Realm would bring us together again.”

            That drew a small chuckle from him. “Isana certainly wasn’t kidding about the Vord. What exactly happened to Alera Imperia and where’s Gaius?”

            “He’s dead,” I answered bluntly. “He died when Alera Imperia fell. The Vord were able to take it; despite our efforts to defend it, I’ve yet to learn exactly what happened. Gaius had told me beforehand that he would unleash the city’s Great Furies on the Vord if it came down to it, and so he did.”

            “Bloody crows,” Raucus breathed, “I’ve hated the old bastard for years, but I can’t deny he knew how to make an exit.”

            “True, and he took the vast majority of the Vord army with him. The ones we just fought were far enough away from the city that they weren’t consumed by the eruption.”

            “So does that mean they’re defeated?”

            I sighed heavily. “Not exactly. They are a hive mind species controlled by a highly intelligent Queen. The only way to defeat them for good is to kill the Queen, and judging by the way the Vord came after us on the causeway I’m certain she’s still alive.”

            “Then we need to make it a priority to find and kill this bitch Queen of theirs.”

            “Naturally.”

            There was another brief moment of silence before Raucus spoke again. “So with Gaius dead, who’s First Lord now?”

            “Well, that _is_ the question. As of yet, no one knows. Octavian isn’t here and no one has any idea if he will return from Canea or if he’s even still alive,” I explained.

            Raucus studied me for a moment. “And I imagine you’ll make a play for the throne.”

            “Yes,” I said softly. “It’s what I’ve worked for since Septimus’s death. I can hardly stop now when the prize is in sight.”

            He nodded. “I’d be willing to support you, provided you treat Isana with proper respect. She was the one who convinced me to come to your aid.”

            I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

            “She made me realize how blind I’d been, letting my personal hatred and feelings stand in the way of the good of the Realm. Took her challenging me to the _juris macto_ to do it.”

            I leaned forward on my stool. “Isana challenged you to the _juris macto?_ _Isana?”_

            “She did. Didn’t mean to win, just to prove a point. It worked.”

            I couldn’t help but grin. “Not exactly the usual sort of diplomacy, but apparently effective. I assure you, Raucus, that I have no intention of treating Isana with disrespect. I have a certain amount of respect for her myself. She was Septimus’s wife, after all.”

            It was then that the tent flap opened and Sir Ehren stepped inside, carrying an envelope and a dagger. Gaius must’ve sent him out of the city through the Deeps before its destruction. “Pardon me, my lords, but I have an important message for Lord Aquitaine.”


	13. Ascension

            I took the letter. There was no question of its origin—it was stamped with the seal of the First Lord. My heart beat faster as I opened it and read:

_I, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, being of sound mind, do hereby adopt Aquitainus Attis into the House of Gaius as the younger brother of my own grandson and heir, Gaius Octavian. It is my wish that he should rule as First Lord in the event of Gaius Octavian’s death, incapacity, or absence. By my own hand and seal,_

_Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera_

            This was it, then.

            I read the letter again, just to make sure it was real and I hadn’t imagined its contents. It was real. I’d seen Gaius’s handwriting enough to recognize it when I saw it.

            In those terrible days after Septimus’s death I was filled with a burning rage, at his murderers and at Gaius for not doing anything to protect him despite being well aware of the plots. When I’d calmed down enough to think coherently, I resolved that with the last heir to the throne dead, I would pursue it myself and try my best to rule as Septimus would have ruled. Gaius was no longer deserving of my loyalty. I would do all that I could to undermine him while gathering support for myself, with the objective of getting Gaius to adopt me as his heir.

            Now it had happened. The goal I’d worked toward relentlessly for nearly twenty-five years was now in my grasp. “I’m the First Lord,” I murmured.

            _“What?”_ exclaimed Raucus.

            “I’m the First Lord,” I repeated, a note of triumph creeping into my voice. “Gaius officially adopted me. That’s what this letter says. Since Octavian isn’t here, the throne falls to me.”

            I handed Raucus the letter; he read it, set it on the table, then saluted me. “Sire.”

            Ehren did the same. “I believe this is yours now.” He handed me the dagger he was holding, which I now recognized as Gaius’s signet dagger. My signet dagger, now. It was similar in design to my own, only with the eagle of the House of Gaius in place of the falcon of Aquitaine. I attached it to my sword belt, where it hung beside my original signet dagger. “You,” I addressed Ehren, “have couriers announce my ascension to the Legions and the refugees. They need to know that the Realm does indeed have a First Lord.” He saluted again, then left the tent.

            “Well,” said Raucus, “you’ve got it now.”

            “Yes. I confess all the times I imagined myself becoming First Lord, it wasn’t quite like this.”

            That got a laugh from him. “Can’t say I envy you.”

            “I have my work cut out for me, that’s for sure,” I remarked, then continued on a more serious note, “I can do this, Raucus.” My dark eyes met his stormy grey ones. They were the exact same shade as Invidia’s but hers were colder than ice. “I can do this. I know I can.”

            Raucus rose from his camp stool and laid a hand on my armored shoulder. “You can, old friend.”

            I gave him a small smile. Hearing that little piece of encouragement from him assuaged some of the guilt I felt about cutting him off all those years ago. “Thank you, Raucus.” Outside the tent, voices could be heard as a crowd gathered. “Well, I suppose it’s time I made my first official appearance as First Lord.” I lifted the tent flap and stepped outside.

            Vitellus was there, as were the Placidas, Captain Miles, and all the Legion captains. A good portion of the First Aquitaine’s officers were there as well, along with all of the trumpeters and standard bearers. “Hail Gaius Aquitainus Attis, First Lord of Alera!” Vitellus proclaimed as soon as I set foot outside the tent. The trumpeters followed it up with the traditional fanfare for the First Lord. In that moment I couldn’t help but be reminded of my ascension to the High Lordship of Aquitaine. That had involved being declared High Lord before the assembled Aquitainian Legions. It was largely ceremonial, meant to symbolize that a High Lord couldn’t hope to rule without the support of his Legions. This wasn’t exactly the full might of the Legions, but it would have to do. And I hardly looked my best, as I hadn’t yet had time to wash away the grime and sweat of battle. My armor was so covered in Vord blood that the falcon on the breastplate was barely visible.

            The crowd saluted me. Chants of, “Hail, Gaius Aquitainus Attis!” broke out among the officers of the First Aquitaine. It didn’t take long for the other onlookers to join in.

            “Hail, Gaius Aquitainus Attis!”

            “Hail, Gaius Aquitainus Attis!”

            “That’s far too long and awkward for everyday use,” I muttered to Raucus, who stood close behind me. “I’ll have to shorten it. Gaius Attis will do nicely.”

            “You would drop the Aquitainus from your name?”

            “No, no, just for everyday use. I’ll still use it for formal occasions.”

            After a short while the chants subsided and the crowd began to disperse. Various people offered me their congratulations. Once most of the crowd had left, Miles approached me. “Sire,” he said, hesitating for a moment over the title, “the Crown Legion is yours to command.”

            There was so much to think about I hadn’t yet considered that. “So it is.”

            “You may wish to set up your command tent in our camp.”

            “A good suggestion. Yes, it makes sense as a symbol of the First Lord’s authority.” Miles was far from a friend at this stage, but he wouldn’t move against me, loyal as he was to the office of the First Lord. My command tent had already been erected in its customary place with the First Aquitaine but it was a simple enough task to move it, especially since my belongings hadn’t yet been set up inside. I promptly dispatched a courier to see it done. “All right then, our first order of business must be security. I seriously doubt we managed to kill every single Vord that attacked us on the causeway. Packs are probably roaming the countryside as we speak, and there may also be others who survived the destruction of Alera Imperia.”

            “We’ve got the Legions forming a barrier between the refugees and the last known location of the Vord,” Miles confirmed.

            “Good. We need to arrange patrols of Knights Aeris to watch for vordknights and enemy crafters and set earth furies to guard the camp against takers.”

            “Takers?” asked Raucus.

            “The Vord have scorpion-like creatures they send out to crawl inside you and make you into their mindless slave,” I explained. “The Queen sent them against us at Alera Imperia and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them survived as well. We discovered earth furies can patrol the camps and stop takers from getting inside.”

            “I’ll make sure my captains know about them,” said Raucus with a nod.

            “We will also need to be on the lookout for any other survivors or groups of refugees,” I informed them. No one argued against this. “I think that’s a reasonable start. We’ll discuss the next steps in more detail later.”

 

**

            Vitellus joined me in my command tent once it’d been relocated to the Crown Legion’s camp and properly furnished. I was quite grateful to change out of my armor and get something filling to eat. The red and azure standard of the House of Gaius flew outside, which would take some getting used to. “You’re missing something,” Vitellus commented after we’d finished eating, “you need a circlet. A steel one.”

            “The traditional crown of the First Lord at war. I’d nearly forgotten.” I hadn’t seen Gaius wearing one at Alera Imperia, which could be why Ehren didn’t offer it to me along with the signet dagger. “I wasn’t given one. It seems I’ll have to make one myself.”

            “I’ll get you some steel.” Vitellus left without another word. It wasn’t long before he returned with a standard-issue set of Legion armor. We’d tried our best to recover as many bodies as we could from the causeway and I’d ordered the armor and weapons stripped from the dead before we laid them to rest. No sense in wasting perfectly good armor and weapons. This set, however, was likely beyond repair. It had been severely damaged in the battle and bore the scars of multiple crafting attacks. But there was enough undamaged steel along the bottom to make into a circlet. I pulled a narrow strip of it loose with my metalcrafting.

            It’d been a while since I’d actually used metalcrafting to shape metal, but I hadn’t forgotten how. There was little to do in this case anyway. I smoothed out the edges, then shaped it into a circle and sealed the ends together. When it was complete, I placed it on my head. I’d judged the size well—it only needed a couple of minor adjustments to fit perfectly. “Well, how do I look?”

            “Like a First Lord at war. It suits you, Attis,” Vitellus assured me.

            “Thank you.” I walked over to a side table where Flavius had already filled a basin with water for me. “Now that I look the part, I suppose I ought to make my connection with the entirety of the Realm.” Seeing Vitellus’s confused expression, I clarified, “What I did when I became High Lord of Aquitaine, project my power outward into the lands I rule.”

            “I’ll leave you to it, then.” Vitellus took his leave. I gazed down at the basin, thinking of how much easier this had been the first time I’d done it. I’d been at my viewing pool then, the very seat of my power. Here I was a First Lord lacking such a seat. The Citadel’s viewing pool would’ve been the ideal location for this. I suppose I could’ve done it from Aquitaine’s viewing pool too. No matter, neither of those were available at the moment. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and reached out with my power.

            The water in the basin had come from the River Gaul. My senses stretched out to the river, and from there to every body of water in Alera. That was how it had gone when I’d done this before—the difference being this was a larger scale. I allowed myself to adjust to this heightened awareness before projecting my power into the land itself. This time, I gasped and had to grip the edges of the basin to keep my concentration. I could feel the destruction of Alera Imperia keenly, along with the presence of the Great Furies Gaius had woken. They were soon followed by every other Great Fury in the Realm.

            To have the attention of so many immensely powerful beings was rather unnerving, though most of them were dormant and not as awake as those of Alera Imperia. They were always present regardless. I couldn’t help but smile as I felt the presence of Aulus and Gaia, the Aquitainian Great Furies. They recognized me too. There was something strangely comforting in that, having the recognition of my own Great Furies as I presented myself to the others. _I am the First Lord of Alera, by decree of Gaius Sextus,_ I projected to them. There was acknowledgement, then acceptance. I let out a heavy sigh of relief.

            Withdrawing my attention from the Great Furies, the Vord presence in Alera became impossible to ignore. The lands covered in _croach_ felt different, fainter. I couldn’t say exactly what effect the _croach_ had on furies, but since it killed all life I highly doubted it was beneficial. There was no denying it—a quarter of the Realm was dead or dying. The responsibility now fell to me to prevent the rest from dying. Hardly a position to be envied. But it had fallen to me, and I intended to execute the duties of my office to the best of my ability. Strangely, I didn’t feel all that apprehensive about the monumental task which lay before me. Instead I felt as if I’d been filled with newfound purpose. There was also a profound sense that my life had led me to this moment, that I’d been prepared for this. Crises such as this one either made or broke rulers. I was certain I could rise to the occasion. As I’d said to Raucus, _I can do this._

            Gradually I withdrew my power. It was done. I’d made my connection to the Realm and the Realm had accepted me. I let out a deep breath and took a step back from the basin. A moment later the tent flap opened and a courier rushed inside. “Sire, the taken have infiltrated the camp!”

            “Crows take it!” I strapped on my swordbelt and rushed outside. “Where are they?”

            “In the camp of the First Antillan.”

            I sighed. “Of course they’d make for one of the Legions with no experience fighting them.” I headed off in the direction of the camp, but didn’t get far before being intercepted by Raucus.

            “Those taken you…”

            I held up a hand and he fell silent. “How fares the situation?”

            “We’ve got it handled. Bloody things gave us some trouble.”

            “They can’t use crafting unless you use it against them first,” I informed him. “My Legions made that mistake once already, when the Queen sent taken after us outside Alera Imperia.”

            Raucus nodded. “My men are disciplined. It won’t happen again.”

            “Good. Setting up the patrols I mentioned earlier will need to be a priority. From now on, no one is to be admitted into this camp unless we can verify they aren’t taken or a captured Aleran serving the Vord.”

            He raised an eyebrow. “Captured Alerans? You didn’t mention that.”

            “There’s a great deal I haven’t mentioned. You’ll hear all about it when we have a command meeting.”

 

**

 

            The command meeting took place just after dinner. By then the anti-taken safety measures were fully in place and we could all breathe easier. A sand table had been set up in my command tent, depicting the Realm in its entirety. Approximately a quarter of it was covered in Vord green. The Placidas were the first to arrive. This was the first time I’d really seen Aria Placida since arriving at the camp aside from her brief appearance earlier. I was glad to see her, I had to admit. We were generally on good terms and crafters of her power and skill were sorely needed.

            “I am extremely grateful that your mission was a success,” I said after kissing her hand in greeting.

            “I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s really Isana you should thank. She was able to see the reality of the situation when I was unable to,” Aria replied.

            “So I’ve heard from Raucus. He told me she challenged him to the _juris macto_.”

            “She did. Isana was able to see that the conflict with the Icemen was due to mutual misunderstandings. Raucus was rather… _resistant_ , so she sought to bring him around to her perspective,” she elaborated.

            “I have to hand it to her—that was quite a bold move. Raucus told me it was that challenge which earned her his respect.”

            “Yes.” Aria met my eyes. “Attis, you should know that Sandos and I have decided to lend you our full support.”

            “And you have my gratitude for that,” I informed her.

            “I’d like to make it clear, though, that you ought to treat Isana with the respect she deserves,” Aria concluded.

            “I have no intention of doing otherwise,” I assured her. “In fact, I intend to seek her support, or at least her cooperation.” It was likely I had my work cut out for me there. I’d yet to see Isana since arriving in the camp. She’d no doubt heard that I’d been proclaimed First Lord, but evidently did not consider it necessary or desirable to approach me. No matter—I would summon her once more pressing business was attended to.

            Aria’s expression indicated she agreed with my assessment that convincing Isana wouldn’t be easy. “Well then, I’m glad we’re on the same page.” I’d generally been on good terms with both Placidas, had even been friends with Aria at the Academy. She was a couple years older than we were and so she wasn’t in our close-knit group, but she was in our social circle regardless. It was Raucus who she was closest to. I had absolutely no intention of jeopardizing my support with either her or Sandos.

            Bit by bit, the others entered the tent and situated themselves on the camp stools arranged around the sand table. Raucus was there, as were all nine Legion captains. Sir Ehren stood at attention a few steps behind me. Once everyone was present, I began the meeting. “Welcome,” I said genially, “I believe our first order of business is to share what recently transpired at Alera Imperia.” I then launched into a detailed recollection of the battle from my perspective, ending with the arrival of the Antillan Legions. “I cannot say what exactly transpired that led to Gaius deciding to use the Great Furies to destroy the city.” I glanced back to Ehren. “Sir Ehren, I understand you were in the city just before it was destroyed. Please enlighten us on what happened.”

            I moved aside to let him step up to the sand table. “It was the crows, sire. The crows that were circling above the city before the battle even started. They dropped takers into the city, right around the time the Queen launched her counterattack against your Legions.” I suppressed a shudder at that while grudgingly admiring the Queen’s cunning. No one paid the crows a second glance as we planned the city’s defense. “The Vord swarmed the walls shortly after that. Gaius was convinced the city was lost, so he destroyed the city instead of allowing it to be taken.”

            The tent was silent for a few moments as we all processed this. It was one of the Antillan captains who broke the silence. “Why didn’t he order a retreat when the city fell?”

            “I asked him the same question,” said Ehren. “He meant to trap as many Vord as possible in the city since it was where he could hurt them most.”

            “And if he’d ordered a retreat, the Legions would’ve had to cut their way through a swarm of Vord, a swarm that would’ve pursued them as they retreated,” I concluded. “Do you think there’s any chance some of the Legions and Citizens stationed in the city might’ve escaped?”

            Ehren shook his head. “I couldn’t say—Gaius sent me out through the Deeps before the destruction began. It’s possible some made it out before…” his voice trailed off.

            I nodded grimly. “We’ll have to hope that others did indeed make it out and are somewhere else in the Heights. Tomorrow I want each Legion to send out groups of aerial and ground scouts to look for any survivors as well as groups of Vord. If most of the High Lords and a large portion of the Citizenry have indeed perished, that is hardly good news for us.” I turned my attention to Raucus then, hoping for a bit of positivity. “Raucus, what of Phrygia? Will he be joining us?”

            “I contacted him before we left Antillus and told him we’d made peace with the Icemen and would be marching south. He said he’d need to make his own peace with the Icemen attacking Phrygia first and then he’d be joining us.”

            “That is excellent news. Did he give any estimate as to how long that would take?”

            Raucus shook his head. “I’ll contact him again once we’re done here.”

            “Very good.” I could’ve contacted Phrygia myself, but given his friendship with Raucus he was the best person to do so. I’d never been more than an acquaintance to him, for all that we were related by marriage. Invidia wasn’t exactly close to her family. “When Gaius destroyed the vast majority of the Vord army, he bought us precious time. Not even the Vord Queen can create a massive horde instantly. It will take some time, and in that time I intend to do everything in my power to hold the Realm together and prepare for the next Vord attack. Because it will come, that is certain. Gaius failed to kill the Queen and as long as she remains alive, the Vord will come for us.”

            Grim expressions could be seen on the faces of everyone gathered around the table. _Good,_ I thought, _they are under no illusions about what we face._ Aria was the first to speak. “You’ll need to establish another seat of power. Aquitaine, I’m guessing?”

            “Perhaps. I haven’t yet given it much thought. Riva is another possibility. It’ll be a northern city out of the way of the Vord for sure. For now, I intend to take a bit of time to rest here before establishing another capital,” I replied.

            “The refugees could certainly use some rest, and the Legions too,” Miles added.

            “Precisely. We need a breather. If the Vord attack us in large enough numbers that we have to retreat, well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes. We’re in a good defensive position here, and I mean to hunt any surviving Vord in the hills before we depart,” I informed them. “The more we can kill before the Queen comes at us again with another massive horde, the better.

 “While we are here, we will out of necessity be forced to rely on what food and supplies we have with us along with whatever we can hunt or forage. I want a thorough inventory of our food and supplies conducted, beginning tomorrow. This will need to include the refugees as well as the Legions. Let’s hope they were able to bring adequate amounts of food with them, otherwise matters will become… complicated.”

            “I would be willing to handle the inventory of the refugees’ supplies,” Aria offered. “It would give me something useful to do. Sandos can see to the Second Placidan.” He gave a brief nod of assent.

            “Your offer is accepted. Please inform me should you require any additional clerks—I can probably spare a few from the Crown Legion and First Aquitaine to get you started.”

            “That would be greatly appreciated, sire,” she replied.

            “So these, then are our priorities for the moment: ensuring the camps are safe and secure, scouting the area for more survivors and the enemy, and taking inventory of our supplies. Our attention must be focused on these efforts for the time being.” Every person around the table nodded in agreement. Such unanimity was unusual at a meeting like this—I suppose we were all in shock from the events of the last two days and not in a mood for arguing. It certainly made things easier for me. Raucus and the Placidas left shortly after that and I took the time to give the Legion captains more detailed instructions regarding what I expected from them.

            I’d just finished when a Placidan Citizen I vaguely recognized burst into the tent. “Sire I have urgent news! The Countess Calderon is here with a large group of Citizens she claims to have rescued from the Vord.”

            My eyebrows rose as my lips curled into a smile. “The Countess Calderon? Send her in. I’d like to speak with her right away!” Somehow it wasn’t surprising that she’d survived the incredibly dangerous task Gaius had set her. The Placidan saluted and went to fetch her. I turned my attention back to the meeting. “Very well then, gentlemen. We know what needs to be done. Let’s be about it.” The captains promptly saluted and made their way out of the tent. As soon as the last of them was gone, Countess Amara of Calderon entered.

            I turned away from the sand table to face her. “Countess Amara, welcome. We have much to discuss.”

 

**Note**

Invidia is described as being from one of the Northern great houses in canon, but it doesn't say which one. Antillus seems unlikely, so I went with Phrygia.


End file.
